Wilting Roses
by XBrokenxDollsX
Summary: AU/OC- Hyuuga Hinata doesn't like vampire romance like all the other girls in her school, let alone wishes to be part of the fanclubs. Yes, Hinata is one of those hardworking students who doesn't have a social life...until she met three new students who will bring her into a whole new reality, and slowly is falling in love for one of her new 'friends'. Poor girl. NaruHina/SasuSaku.
1. Chapter 1

I promised myself I wouldn't do this... I promised every God I could think of that I wouldn't go there... I promised my cat that I wouldn't let this happen!

For starters, this has nothing to go towards promoting/encouraging/liking Twilight. I hate Twilight like it's carrots (and I hate carrots like it's a plague); I don't believe in Stephanie Meyer's way of creating the vampires to sparkle in the sun, or to have werewolves be shirtless for most of the time. It literally makes me cry that the generation now and will forever think that vampires would sparkle in the sun when History CLEARLY states that vampires burn and suck the living out of humans for their own pleasure (also having their romance in a sick twisted way). For anyone who enjoys Twilight and wishes to read this fanfiction, please do so and enjoy. I don't want to create any problems in the opinion in which you hold, I'm just clearing the fact that I am not a fan of Twilight... I prefer the old fashioned black and white Dracula myself.

Second, I feel very cliche to make this a vampire-related subject, but I have been inspired by Yuna Kagesaki's _Chibi Vampire _and Greek/Roman stories that have twists of romance and adventure. For the reason why I am making this fanfiction is because I feel that the pairing, NaruHina, fits the characters quite well. In my opinion, at least. Of course, there is character development and other stuff, but I keep picturing NaruHina then any other anime pairing I hold in my head~.

Lastly, I'd like to point out that I am open to comments and criticism. But, for the fact that I know it could come sooner or later, that you do not judge my grammar or spelling C: I simply make fanfictions for fun and wish to share it with others, not trying to publish a best seller or a all-time-amazing-fanfiction *derpface* I don't want anything near that, please. I know I'm not the best, but my beta reader/very good friend, M0n0chr0meHue, is very helpful and I am thankful for her help. And, if you have any spare time at all, take a look at her profile and stories; they are simply wonderful and I enjoy them myself! Oh, and before I forget... Don't judge my vampires, okay? o_-' I know I'm not the only person out there who would rant about a vampire no-no, but cut some people some slack will you? FanFictions writers have a heart, too ;A; They're trying their creativity.

Please enjoy this story and comment if you wish it! ;D Comments make Kitty a happy fuzzball!

=xxx=

**1930s', October**

_Uzumaki Kushina opened the shouji door of her bedroom to find her husband peering into the cradle with a soft expression across his handsome face. She couldn't help but giggle adoringly, making the blonde man snap his head up with rosy cheeks of his situation; scratching his chin with his index finger and let a soft laugh slip out along with the tune of his wife._

_She came in with the cup of tea to pass to him. "Minato-kun, when will you let him sleep peacefully?" She asked in a whisper, careful not to let the little bundle inside the cradle stir. "He's only a few days old, he won't be doing anything special anytime soon."_

_Minato gulped shyly as he looked into the tea. "It's fun watching him... he's very cute, you know?" He took quick sips to hide the stutters._

_Kushina tugged on one of his blonde locks, kissing his cheek. "You have plently of time to see how cute he can be, Minato-kun. Let him be and follow me; our friends will be arriving shortly!" Her small hand gently grasped his large, warm palm, gently tugging him away from the baby set and out of the room. "I heard you singing to him a while ago."_

_Minato let out a chuckle. "I'm sorry... it was the lullaby my mother sang to me when I was a baby." He pulled his hand away to wrap around his love's shoulders._

_"I think it's a very beautiful song, even if I can't understand English... I think our son will appreciate it," Kushina let a smile stretch as Minato finished his tea, taking the cup for him to place by the teapot. "Do you ever miss America, Minato-kun?"_

_Minato let his thoughts wander a little before replying. "A little, but it's not like Japan... I love it here; the way nature is and the culture makes me feel more... adventurous." Kushina giggles made Minato hide his face in her long, red hair. "Since my mother's passing, I feel like Japan is more of my home..."_

_"It is home," Kushina agreed softly. She was about to say something in assurance for her husband's mourning when a sound of a bell came from their front door._

_They have arrived._

_"Ah, right on time," Minato hummed as Kushina's tomato-shaped face practically glowed when she shuffled her feet to greet her friends. Minato followed suited to bow his head to the two figures that stood staight in the doorway. "Welcome to our home, Uchiha-san."_

_The dark-haired man bowed in reply. "Arigato, Minato... but, like I have said before, please address me from my first name."_

_Kushina waved her hand infront of her face. "Ne, ne, Sasuke-kun. Minato-kun is still new to the language of addressing friends, Dattebane!"_

_"Hn, it is understandable," Sasuke blinked thoughtfully._

_"Kushina-chaaan, you look so lovely, my dear!" the shorter figure cooed. Her pink strands glimmered in the sunlight as green orbs sparkled. "I never thought you would look so adorable after childbirth!"_

_"Sakura-chan, I've missed you too!" Kushina cried as she cuddled into the girl's arms. "I wished you would've visited me at the hospital to see me."_

_"You know the deal, Kushina," Sakura pointed her index finger and wagged teasingly. "I would have to be invited inside by someone to come in!"_

_"Speaking of which..." Minato let a toothy smile express his joy," please, come into our home."_

_The couple bowed their heads low before stepping together across the doorframe, exhaling silently before departing from their line. Minato has grown accustomed to their friend's behaviors, for what it was worth, he thought it was interesting to see how...their kind works._

_The pink haired girl couldn't help but jump up and down in her kimono. "Can I see him now? I wish to see the little one! I have waited too long, you know! Cha!" her voice rose a tune higher as Kushina let out a squeal in the same pitch, taking her hand and guiding her quickly away from the two males that stood._

_"She has refused to sit still since she heard Kushina-san having labor pains," Sasuke crossed his arms, tugging on his yukata sleeves before smirking at his friend. "I suppose you were the same way when it happened?"_

_Minato blushed. "Teme, I refuse to answer that question..."_

_"Hn. It seems that I know the answer anyhow."_

_Minato growled a little before walking to the table, silently offering tea to his guest. With the reply, he poured in a manner that made Sasuke snicker under his breath. "What is it now?"_

_"You pour like a true American, my friend. Sakura would have your hands hanging from our wall if she saw you pour like that." Sasuke glide silently over and took the pot away from Minato, gesturing his hand properly. "You must let your pointer finger stick out while the rest clutch to the handle," he spoke easily as he poured Minato's cup, setting the pot facing his blonde friend's way. "Then, you must hve the spout facing the guest, in order to let them know you will serve them again if they ask for another cup."_

_"Right," Minato muttered with defeat. "I forget."_

_"You will learn, my friend. It takes time and I'm sure Kushina has all the patience in the world..."_

_The sound of barefeet echoed, having both men see the two women giggling. Kushina was holding the bundle as Sakura went circling around her friend to eye the little face that tried to watch her every move._

_"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cried out as she squished her cheeks with her pale hands. "He's simply adorable! Look at those pretty eyes and his rosy cheeks! He looks so much like his father, it's not even funny!" Sakura couldn't help but coo at the the little baby, poking her fingers onto his soft blanket. "Look at him, Sasuke-kun!"_

_"I am, love," Sasuke replied cooly, watching Kushina gently hand over the baby to the excited girl. "He looks a lot like his father, indeed."_

_"Yes, he fits his personality, too," Kushina added adoringly, placing a soft kiss to the baby's faint blonde hair. "They both make the same face when they're hungry, as well."_

_"Kawaii!" Sakura cooed as she cradled the baby. "What is his name?"_

_"Naruto," Minato and Kushina both answered with blushes of their cheeks exposing. "Uzumaki Naruto."_

_"Aa, I think it fits him," Sasuke nodded. "Sakura, be careful with him. He's fragile."_

_"I know, jeez!" Sakura pouted innocently. "It's not my first time holding an infant, Sasuke-kun! Why can't you just- Oh, look at him! He likes my hair, Kushina-chan!" Sakura squealed as Naruto's baby hand reached for her abnormal pink hair. Gently touching the short, chopped strands, Sakura practically melted. "He's so observing!"_

_Kushina giggled. "Yes, he plays with my hair as well." She rubbed Naruto's chin to wipe off a strand of spittle the baby bubbled up himself._

_"I love him already!" Sakura nuzzled gently as possible to the baby's hair. "And he smells yummy, too!" Her head snapped up to Kushina in shock. "Oh, not like that! I mean, you know, he's so cute that he's yummy!"_

_"Sakura-san, it's okay," Minato laughed hard, nearly dropping his empty teacup. "We trust you with our kid..."_

_Sakura made a squinty face and nodded once. "Hai! I have been practicing very hard for this day, it's not even funny!"_

_Sasuke sighed softly, tugging Sakura's white kimono sleeve. "You must relax, Sakura... It is said that children can sense hidden emotions as well. Don't get the baby over excited."_

_"Pile of ice," Sakura hissed like a animal; realizing that the baby tensed with the unknown vibration, she cuddled Naruto. "Sorry, Naruto-chan! Nee-chan didn't mean it to you, honey!"_

_Naruto made a soft gurgle before cuddling to Sakura's soft cheek, clinging to her pink hair with little fists and she poked her nose with his with affection._

_Kushina clapped her hands softly together. "Sakura-chan, why don't you carry Naruto on our walk? I'd do it, but I'm still tired, Dattebane... If Sasuke-san doesn't mind it, that is." She looked at the young looking man with black eyes. _

_"As long as she is careful," Sasuke hummed quietly._

_"See, Naruto-chan? Nee-chan is going to carry you for our walk! Don't worry, your mother will be next to me just in case!"_

_=xxx=_

_"And that over there is where Sasuke-kun meets the ducks he summons with his ice attitude!" Sakura pointed a pale finger to a small pond where a mother duck tend to her ducklings, having them follow her across the water. "And over there is where they have yummy ice with fruit syrup! When you're older, I'm going to have to spoil you with... Sasuke-kun, stop looking at me like that! I want to show him everything."_

_"The kid is going to be smothered by her until he developes your personality a lot more, Minato," Sasuke muttered softly to his companion. "There will be two Dobes in the picture now."_

_"Teme," was Minato's only reply._

_Kushina smiled with pure joy as she and Sakura linked hands, looking around their neighborhood that they grew a strong bond over the course of a year; being like family that Kushina never really had... a loving sister and brother-in-law, per se. She enjoyed every moment with the couple... even if they weren't the kind they would expect finding. She knew what they were, and so did Minato, but that never stopped their friendship._

_"Kushina-chan," Sakura tugged at their linked fingers, "can you show me how you feed Naruto-chan?"_

_"Why?"_

_"Because I never knew how to properly feed a baby..." her friend's green orbs sparkled with a hint of hope that Kushina knew all too well. "I want to know what it is like to feed a baby when I have mine someday, cha!"_

_"Alright, I don't see a problem with that," Kushina smiled softly as she watched Sakura bounce Naruto gently in her arms while making 'poot' noises with her cheeks puffed up. "You can also help me give him a bath and settle him into bed, if you wish."_

_"I want to!" Sakura squealed._

_"So, Sasuke," Minato shoved his hands into his pockets as he strolled by his friend behind the two women with the baby,"isn't it near that time when you have to go to the next town for..?"_

_Sasuke nodded to cut him off. "Yes, by next week, Sakura would be unable to come outside during the day... as would I." He kept his hands within his yukata sleeves while peering at the pink haired woman; watching her hold Naruto's small form like she has done it for many years. "Would you mind it if Sakura would accompany your household until I get back?"_

_"Why?" Minato looked at Sasuke's pale features. "Is something wrong with Sakura?"_

_"Hn," Sasuke grunted. "Sakura said she saw a few random vampires she didn't know a few days ago. She was in the forest outside of the village when she came across them; they didn't communicate, but Sakura concluded that they weren't... normal." He stopped walking, forcing his friend to stop by him. "Sakura isn't much of a fighter, nor is she the kind to become vicious when she hasn't eaten... I don't want them to get near her or anything. Do you understand?"_

_Minato looked down to his toes, reminding himself of what happened to his pink haired friend...centuries ago. "Hai, Sasuke. It won't be any problem at all to have Sakura-chan stay over!" he raised his chin and performed a toothy smile. "Kushina needs a another lady to hang around when I can't keep up."_

_"I see," Sasuke mumbles amused. "Arigato, Minato... Just make sure that Sakura isn't too rough around your home; I don't want to come back with your house barely standing."_

_"I heard that, you asshole!" Sakura's scream echoed throughout the entire village they lived in._

_=xxx=_

_Uchiha Sasuke dropped the pedistran in the alleyway, letting the limped body make a 'thud' noise as the passed out human groaned quietly. He swiped his thumb across his chin, removing the small trail of blood that was spilling from his perfect lips; he could still taste the sweet liquid of blood on his decreasing canines. Sasuke let out a soft sigh as he flicked his hand outward, letting his black yukata sleeve drag down to hide his pale hands._

_'Easy drunk,' Sasuke hissed within his thoughts. 'Stupid enough to help a bystander with red eyes? Pathedic.' He strolled through the patch of woods in the dark night, only seeing tiny candles that were lit in people's homes and in lanterns outside of their doors: some printed with japanese writing to fend of evil spirits, or the names of their lost loved ones to find their way home. He ignored most of those decorated lanterns for his own sake and hurried in inhuman speed to reach his home village, where his loving wife was waiting for her own meal to come._

_Sasuke smirked silently of the thought of his flower...how jumpy she would always be whenever he would return home, nuzzling his neck so lovingly before asking for permission to bite his pale neck. Her fragile looking hands cling to his clothes, or his soft hair, as she drank the blood he gathered for the both of them. For centuries, he feared for Sakura's health in regards of feeding off of humans..._

_His thoughts of the subject instantly snapped when he smelled a strong scent of iron and other natural minerals, just lingering in the air -blind to human senses- settling in the damp air near the district where his home and the Uzumakis' live._

_In a instant, he made his way through his own home, dashing through every shoji door and every hidden room where Sakura would hide incase she was incapable, but found nothing of evidence. With the worst idea in his mind, he slowly turned his head to look out the window._

_Up the grassy hill, where Kushina and Sakura created a small flowering garden a few months before, there the tanned wall held the front door that the couple were at hours before..._

_There, sitting in the doorway, was his dear Sakura. What he saw first was her green orbs were no more; they were now black with no sign of any white under her long lashes, black beads wide open as her lips trembled horribly, noticing the tiny sharp teeth that pricked her bottom lip. Her pink hair was disleved and stained with red patches near her scalp. Her beautiful kimono that he had gotten specially made for his love was torn and bloodstained to the degree that it barely looked like normal attire._

_He made his way over to her in a nanosecond, running his long fingers through her hair in a attempt to soothe her body from trembling any longer. He noticed that not a single drop of blood lingered on her lips, like it usually would after she fed off of human anatomy. His thumb press on her ice-cold cheekbone as fresh tears fell blindly as she finally met his gaze._

_"Sasuke-kun..?" she opened her mouth to reveal her razor sharp teeth. "Sasuke-kun, I didn't... They came back..!"_

_"I know, I know," he whispered, pressing his lips to her forehead. "What happened..?" Sasuke pushed her pink hair away from her black eyes, having it stick to the blood patches as his wife shivered under his touch._

_"K-Kushina-chan told me to bathe Naruto...like she showed me..." her throat bobbed as she swallowed dryly, "and...and I did it carefully, and she left me to get something to dry Naruto with..."_

_"Then what, love?"_

_Sakura tried to moisten her dry lips, exhaling in a horrid manner. "Kushina-chan screamed so loud... and Minato cried out -he was resting in their bedroom!- I tried to see, but Naruto was in the water... I couldn't leave Naruto!" she pressed her palm to her kimono, where her chest lingered, asking Sasuke to follow his gaze. "I couldn't leave him!"_

_Sasuke looked down then; seeing a small head within her kimono cloth, a baby's face resting on Sakura's pale skin, with the kimono shielding him from the cold. He was sleeping soundly, as if nothing horrible was touching his fresh and pure soul._

_"They tried to get me-" Sasuke's nostril flared "-I was able to... let out my inner hunger, but... they took off before you came home..! It's too late, Sasuke-kun! They're both dead. Dead! Dead! Dead-!"_

_Sasuke silenced her cries by kissing her, telling her in his way that she needed to calm down. When she whimpered as he let go, she brushed her fingers on the baby's faint hair, sniffling as tears dripped out of her beady eyes. She felt his palms press on her cold cheeks._

_"Sakura, are you sure they are..." he trailed of, his eyes reading pain to continue on any longer._

_She simply nodded. "I-I tried t-t-to change them... but I couldn't find a heartbeat." She let her gaze peer to the sleeping infant in her arms, hiccuping quietly while sucking on his itty bitty thumb. She closed her eyes slowly. "Naruto is an orphan, Sasuke-kun..!"_

_"I know, Sakura," Sasuke hissed under his breath, pressing his lips back to her forehead as he pulled her into his arms (minding the sleeping baby is fragile compaired to his dear love). "You tried, but now we must take care of Naruto... like siblings, you see?"_

_"Humph!" Sakura whimpered, burying her face in the crook of his neck. "I want to be Naruto's big sister..! I don't want Naruto to be lonely."_

_"He won't be alone, Sakura," Sasuke whispered softly, his black eyes bled to a bright red with three commas swirling. He scanned the area to find any disturbance in the human's homes... there was none. He carried the two in his arms with ease as he walked barefoot into the forest._

_"Sasuke-kun?"_

_"Hn."_

_"Where will we go now?"_

_"Somewhere to hide, Sakura..."_

_Within those moments, Sasuke figured out in his head that his best friend is dead. His only real friend who was human and married to a human that his wife befriended for the first time since he got her into the world of the dark, was now dead. Their only child, not even a few weeks old, was now an orphan. To him, Minato was like a brother and Kushina was a sister...the baby that his wife now held was a combination of both of them._

_From that moment, Sasuke knew that this combination of his two closest human companion... was now his next companion in the world of the Dark._

Wilting Roses

Chapter One- Just Another Story

Hyuuga Hinata is one of the most hard-working students in her High School, the top academic female student for the past two years; she will one day inherit the Hyuuga Tech., a company that creates new phones for the growing population and is very popular in the Asian region of the world. Hinata had long, dark blue hair with pale eyes of the shade of lavender- a very pretty girl, most may say, others would say she would be different, unique, or one-of-a-kind. She's a very sweet seventeen year old girl, who never talks back to anyone who tried to tease her. Everyone knows her family to be strict and demands order, but Hinata is so much more passive and carefree when it comes to taking charge of anything. Unfortunately, Hinata does not possess many friends, or communicates with anyone at the lunch tables.

Yes, Hyuuga Hinata is a popular girl, but is an outcast in school.

Hinata opened her locker to gently place in her Geology textbook next to her notebooks that are color coded for her classes. She always made sure she had things in order because she tends to misplace things very easily without proper instructions on how to find it all by herself.

"Did you order the next book?" a female voice reached Hinata's ears from behind.

"Hai, I have to wait two weeks for it to arrive at the store. I can hardly wait for it!" Another female voice squealed as she pulled out her Mathematics textbook and closed her locker loudly. "Oi, Hyuuga-chan, are you reading this series, too?"

Hinata looked at the book one of the girls was holding, noticing the popular font and cover design that left a clear answer of what it was...

Another vampire love story.

Hinata shook her head with a smile. "I-I'm afraid I haven't read it... Uhm, I-I have been very b-busy lately." Of course, she knew she was giving the lie she has used for years now, afraid of admitting that she had no interest at all in it.

"Ohh, but you must find time to read it! The vampire boy in here is just to _die for_!" the redhead flipped her hair with starry eyes. "It says his eyes are like looking into heaven!"

"Tch, the werewolf is totally better; he's mysterious for the main character and you could tell that he wants her to be safe!" the blonde companion whined while cuddling her cheeks.

"Dogs are stinky," was the redhead's reply.

"Take that back, you blood-sucker lover!"

Hinata just bowed her head before the battle between the two classmates became deadly, leaving them behind to enter her math class.

Hinata settled in her desk, which stood in the back, where she sat alone without a seatmate. She didn't mind it. She really wasn't the best at starting conversations or helping people out with their math problem (being that she was the best in her class), so she simply settles herself out of people's way and pay attention to the whiteboard and the teacher's words.

The bell went off to signal the start of next period. She opened her notebook and began to doodle butterflies with her favorite purple-inked pen, giving the wings adorable details of hearts and bubbles when the young teacher called the class into order.

-xxx-

Class was into the deep conversation about a heavy equation and a loud knock intrupted the teacher's speech about using the long formula, which Hinata solved less then five minutes just by using her head.

The door opened to show that an office woman sticking her head in. "Excuse me, but your new students got lost trying to find you in the other building." Her cheeky smile and faint blushed let Hinata know that this particular office lady, who is well into her twenties, has a fling for the math teacher, who is around the same age.

"Aa, it's alright," the teacher scratched his neck, tugging the tie a little. "Let them in and I'll take them out of your hair."

The door increased to open as three figures strolled in to cause silent gasps in the room. Hinata stopped shading in her butterfly to see what the fuss was to blink in surprise at the sight she encountered in the back of the classroom alone.

The first one to walk in was a young man with seductive features. Short, spikey hair that stuck behind him with black eyes to match under his bangs. He was fairly tall and skinny, having long legs to make him move fluidly into the room; the faint echo of the girls in the classroom swooning over the first glimpse of the young man as his blank face was nowhere looking into anyone's eyes, but face the floor. He had a perfectly sculpted face, a perfect nose to blend in so nicely with his model-like lips... If Hinata didn't know any better, she would've though the young man _was _a model for an expensive clothing line.

The next figure was a girl. She had very green eyes that sparkled with curiosity and joy as she walked adoringly into the room with her hands behind her back, her long legs seem to move in a slow motion as she settled to stand next to the black-haired boy. The most odd thing Hinata would point out straight away was her _pink _hair that was short and wavy around her cheekbones, giving shape to her heart-shaped face and light pink lips. She had slightly more color then the first boy, but she stilled exposed a pale skin tone. She was slightly skinny, small curves that seemed to fit well with her small chest and a smaller height compared to the boy (who Hinata noted was as tall as their teacher). She wore a smile that distracted many of Hinata's classmates in a instant.

A voice of a male seemed to come from outside the door as the office assistant was recieving a thank you. "Thanks a lot, lady-! Kurenai, right? We could've sworn the building was the right one!" The voice was very energetic and loud, causing the dark boy to twitch once under his left eye and the pink-haired girl to offer him a small nudge and a whisper of something Hinata couldn't pick up.

A blonde boy with tanned skin came jumping into the classroom as the door was shut behind him; a toothy smile that revealed white, shinny teeth as his whiskered cheeks bubbled as he waved to the teacher. "Sorry, Mister!"

The teacher waved his hand. "It's nothing. New students get lost all the time," he said with ease as he looked at his class list to check of three names with a blue pen. "Why don't you start with your name and something you like for the class to get to know you? It's sorta of a tradition I have for this class." The teacher smiled warmly to the dark-haired boy first, as if giving him encouragement to go first.

The guy looked up from the ground to meet every single set of eyes in the class as he spoke in a cool tone of no interest. "Uchiha Sasuke."

"Something you like, Uchiha-san?" the teacher beckoned politely.

"Hn...nothing." Hinata jumped a bit in her chair as every girl in the class 'kyaa'-ed with hearts in their eyes as Sasuke looked back down with no interest as before.

"He's too cool to like _anything_!" a girl screeched with her hand over her heart.

"I think I'm in love!" the girl Hinata sat behind whispered while her boyfriend of two years popped a vein in his temple.

"R-right. How about you, miss?" the teacher gulped as he changed gazes to green orbs.

The pink-haired girl replied to the teacher with a beautiful smile, making him flush a little, as she spoke with a perfect voice of a singer. "My name is Uzumaki Sakura, and I enjoy learning about medical courses," she said with a glittering twinkle in her eye. "I hope to become a doctor one day and help out in developing countries!" She tucked a pink lock behind her ear as Sasuke made a grunt for her attention. "Oh yes, I am also engaged to Sasuke-kun as well...he wished for me to mention that."

"Nooo!" the girls cursed with their heart eyes bursting into flames, making Hinata giggle a little to herself. Sure, someone has to break the hearts of the new heart-throb of the school, but not this quickly.

The teacher didn't even get the chance to motion for the blonde's turn as he thrust up a fist and a laugh. "Name's Uzumaki Naruto, everybody! Sakura-chan is my sister and I love ramen, martial arts, sleeping, video games and so many other things! Dattebayo!" He was going to continue with his introduction speech as Sakura, as fragile as she seems, smacked the back of Naruto's skull, causing the tanned teen to let out a cry in pain. "Oww! Sakura-chan, that _huuurts,_ Dattebayo!"

The class roared with laughter as the teacher let a sweatdrop appear on his head. "Well, thank you for your names, you three! Uhm, I have your seating plans sorted out already." he peered at another sheet of paper as he pointed to an empty table in the middle of the classroom. "Uchiha-san, Uzumaki-san -if I may call you Sakura?- you will be seated there together..." he let the two walk down the aisle with their peers examining every little detail they could look at as Sasuke pulled out a chair for Sakura before he took his own seat and kept silent the whole time. "Uzumaki-san, you will be sitting next to Hyuuga-san in the back. Raise your hand, Hyuuga-san!"

"Huh?" Hinata's face flushed as she met the blonde's blue eyes, causing Hinata's heart to hit her ribcage as she raised a shaking hand while stuttering. "H-h-h-here!"

The teacher smiled at the blond before saying his last conversation line. "You may call me Asuma-sensei, by the way. I don't think scheduels at the middle of the year doesn't state the name."

Naruto bowed his head to the teacher and practically jumped his way to the back of the room, hopping over books and limbs of the classmate's legs to kick himself back onto the seat and rest his feet on the table. He let his hands rest behind his head as he winked at Hinata friendly-like. "Heya, you can call me Naruto. Uzumaki makes me feel like a stranger!"

Hinata didn't say anything but kept her gaze down while the teacher went back to talking. She stumbled her purple pen in her fingers as she tried to start a new doodle of another butterfly with swirls within its wings. She could feel the presence of Naruto's eyes on her as he made noises of his chair scooting closer to look at her paper.

"Gee, thats a very good drawing," Naruto said politely, making Hinata gulp thickly with her nerves going out of wack. "Your name is Hinata, right? You're good at drawing, Hinata."

Hinata nodded fast. "A-arig-...arigato, N-Naruto...-kun."

Naruto's head tilted to the side, slowly reaching his index finger to gently poke her shoulder. "Ne, ne. You don't have to be scared with me, Hinata. I'm a good boy!" He tugged her uniform sleeve to have her look at his dashing smile. "I want to be friends with you, Dattebayo!"

She could feel her cheeks growing to a deeper shade of red as she tried to force out a smile, nodding slowly as she turned her head back to watch the teacher...

Although, it was a difficult task with Naruto asking her to keep drawing her butterfly.

=xxx=

Class ended after another half hour, the bell signaling the students to have their social break to chat, eat their lunch, and study for the last minute. The students in Hinata's math class swarmed out quickly, noting that Naruto hasn't even risen from his chair as his eyes were glued to Hinata's purple doodles.

"A-Ano..." Hinata mumbled shyly.

"Ne?" Naruto's blue eyes looked up. "What's wrong, Hinata?"

"C-class is over now, Naruto-kun..."

The blonde sat up in his chair, having a confused look before giving himself a facepalm on his forehead. "Right! Thats the bell for lunch, isn't it? Haha, I wouldn't have known if I wasn't paying attention... Wait, I wasn't paying attention!" He stood up from his chair to stare a little frightened. Out of curiosity, Hinata followed his gaze to see Sakura and Sasuke standing by their desk, facing them. "Uhm... Sorry guys! I-I was just-"

"Not paying attention," Sasuke muttered coldly. "You're such a dobe."

"Am not! I was just watching Hinata draw in her notebook!" Naruto defended himself weakly, waving his hand at Hinata's paper she still had out in plain sight.

"She was paying attention as well as drawing, Naruto," Sakura said. "It is called multi-tasking, which is something you don't possess very well." Sakura's green eyes lingered to Hinata's pale ones, giving her a kind smile as she walked over and stuck out her small hand. "It's nice to meet you, Hinata-chan. Please, excuse my brother's stupidity and if he bothered you in anyway from learning."

"Oh, n-no! He was no trouble at all, Uzu-"

"Please call me Sakura," she smiled bigger.

"S-Sakura-chan... N-Naruto-kun was no trouble," she continued. "Actually, h-he was fun to be around." She gave Naruto's sister a small smile.

"See? I'm behaving!" Naruto cried out as scratched his head.

"You're still a dobe, Dobe," Sasuke said flatly, wrapping an arm around Sakura's waist. Hinata notice that she didn't see him make his way over here. "We're going for lunch."

"Can Hinata-chan come, too?" Sakura asked with loving eyes as she glanced up to him. "She seems very nice."

"U-uhm, I don't want to be a bother!" Hinata held her hands up to protest, but Sakura's giggle made her silent.

"What bother would it be to have you join us for lunch?" Sakura giggled cutely, making Hinata blush shyly. "Unless you have other plans, I would like to get to know you. You seem like a very polite and fun person!"

"Yeah yeah!" Naruto nodded quickly, in a excited stance to face the Hyuuga heiress. "Come on, Hinata. Please? I know Teme looks like a scary guy, but he's actually a pu-" He got Sakura's fist to land perfectly ontop of his head, making another cry of pain. "That hurt, Sakura-chaaan!"

"Don't call Sasuke-kun mean names, Naruto!" Sakura said calmly as she snuggled her way into Sasuke's waiting arms, having him smirk at the blonde in victory. "Your brother-in-law is a very brave man in my life!"

"Pfft, whatever," Naruto choked as he looked at Hinata with pleading eyes. "So, what'cha say, Hinata? You could show us around the school, if you want! We're pretty much new to town and we don't know anybody! You can be our first friend ever!"

The word 'friend' echoed in Hinata's mind thoughtfully and invitingly. She enjoyed having Naruto as a seatmate, and she already liked Sakura's warm presence. She didn't know what caused her to reply in such a way, it just happened.

"Okay."

_What is she doing?_


	2. Chapter 2

I felt like updating early because a lot of people are following this story :D I usually prefer to update every Friday, if I can, but my other story (soon another to add on) needs updates, too ;w; I actually love this! xD

Mwah~ yes, I'm back with part two of this chapter. *puts on French attire* Oui, oui! I'm listening to French pop songs while typing this chapter, because I'm about to describe more about the Uzumaki siblings and the Uchiha's behavior around Hinata. I feel excited to keep playing around with characters that aren't mine (because this is FanFiction, and you can write stories about characters that are not yours; I have no ownership of Masashi Kishimoto's characters, unfortunately ;w; Or I would've made Tobi's true appearance about... hundred of chapters earlier! *NOT GIVING SPOILERS!* I'm just evil like that).

Anyway, just to let the other people know (because we all know there are some out here) about my version of Vampires. Remember when I said I prefer the original burn-in-the-sun vamps? Yes, the main vampires are in the sun in plain daylight and eating human food; totally normal teenagers, no? Wrong! It's called character development...only not with character's personality, but with character's species. You understand at all? Sorry if I rant about how I hate Twilight's vampires, yet I make my own versions. These vampires are the vampires that burn in the sun, but...we'll let the story tell you instead of having Kitty ramble about nonsense, shall we? C:

Enjoy the chapter and review, favorite, etc~! Kitty will be a happy fuzzy if you're happy!

*P.S.- Yes, I know that Sakura and Naruto are sharing the same last name of Uzumaki. I made this to be that Sakura and Naruto to be 'siblings' for a reason ouo;;; Mostly because I always seen these two have a brother-sister relationship (not a hater for NaruSaku, but I prefer SasuSaku), so I wanted them to be siblings in this story! Although, I will be putting in more things for how Naruto's relationship with his vampire buddies are and how he was raised by them, of course!

=XXX=

Wilting Roses

Chapter Two- New Hot Ice

Hinata was the kind of girl who would sit alone during her lunch break, merely because she wasn't invited to joing any tables or group of teens that sit in a circle in the green grass of the High School's courtyard. She would eat her homemade meal alone in a particular spot under a cherry blossom tree that blooms during March: her most favorable spot as well as her own personal thinking place...

But today, in the sunny day of late Feburary on Thursday, Hyuuga Hinata was not alone under her cherry blossom tree.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun," Sakura's cheerful voice caught Hinata to look up from her lunch. "Eat your tomato, I paid good money to get the ripe ones for you!"

"The money that is mine, Sakura," Sasuke purred in a neutral voice. He took the shining, perfectly round tomato from Sakura's small hands, ignoring the eyeing fangirls that watched from a distance with their own little cliques forming bigger every moment of the Sasuke Fanclub. They swooned by the Uchiha's soft purr, but soon changed their expression when the icy man filled the empty space between himself and his girl to nip her nose teasingly. "Arigato."

Sakura scrunched her face as he kept biting her little nose, letting out a small cry as she pushed him away softly. "Stop it, Sasuke-kun. Hinata-chan is watching!"

"Hn," was his only reply.

Sakura wasn't blushing as she looked at Hinata. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan. Sasuke-kun is very possessive and teasing. I hope I didn't bother you at all!" She clapped her hands together in a apology. She picked up her small container of rice with pork meat and took nibbles with her red chopsticks.

"It's okay... A-Ano, I don't mind it at all, Sakura-chan," her pale eyes wandered over the couple, suddenly burting out her words. "Are you two really engaged, Sakura-chan?" She didn't bother to look over at the Uchiha's cold stare at the question she asked the pink haired cutie.

Sakura doned a bright smile that made Hinata blush deep. "Uh-huh! For about a few months, I believe," she giggled like a excited child when Sasuke wrapped a arm around her shoulder, meeting the gazes of the boys who lost their girlfriends because of one particular duck-butt haired boy. "His proposal was very sweet, _chaaaa!"_ Sakura sighed at her fequently used saying in a dreamy tone before snuggling into his arm.

Hinata didn't stop herself to let a smile of her own perk on her glossy lips. "What was it like?"

"You wish to hear about it?"

Hinata nodded quickly. "Please, I want to hear what it was like and-"

"Sakura-chan told this story way too many times, Hinata!" Naruto whimpers next to her. Her jolted her spine to straighten at his loud voice, blushing three times deeper then before and nearly close to the tomato's shade. "God, she told our sister on the phone and basically screamed it for hours to fight with her."

"Oh, you have another sister?" Hinata kindly touched her chin with her fingers in curiosity.

"Ne, she's Naruto's twin," Sakura chimed in thoughtfully, pushing Sasuke's face away, who was trying to get to her flower stem neck without her permission. "I'm older then both of them, actually. By one year!"

"Oh, why isn't she here with you guys?"

Sakura curled her fingers into a fight fist, still having a bright smile on her beautiful face, as she clenched her hand hard enough to let echoes of cracking knuckles. "She's married now and lives at our previous home, keeping it clean and nice with her lazy husband. She didn't want to move and go into a school like the rest of us, right?" Naruto nodded hard in response.

"Sakura-chan wanted her to come, but she is trying to get a career in fashion," Naruto scratched his whisker scars and sighed. "She's good at it, but she isn't able to get it without education, Dattebayo." He gave Hinata a bright smile. "My sisters fight a lot."

"But I love that two-timing, back stabbing, leaving-her-sister-for-a-lazy-man pig!" Sakura laughed full hearted as she pat Sasuke's toned chest with unesscary force, causing him to grunt a bit in pain. "She's be visiting sometime soon. Anyway, you wanted to hear about the proposal..."

Hinata nodded with a smile as Naruto muttered under his breath. "Here we go again..."

Sakura snakes her arm to interlock with one of Sasuke's arm that he was using to keep himself up. "We used to live in Seoul, and we lived by this really nice park that I loved to go to everyday. It has a little pond and they light it up at night with tons of pretty colors! So what Sasuke-kun did is that he reserved a special patio that was decorated with white roses and made a cute little table for us to eat diner; then we went on a walk around the park and proposed to me by the pond when it lit up!" She made a gushy noise as she snuggled her head to Sasukes'. "He comes up with the most romantic ideas, even if it seems like he is not romatic at all."

"That sounds s-so... cute!" Hinata giggled when she saw Naruto groan. "When is the wedding?"

"Ah," Sakura trailed off with a blank look, causing the Hyuuga girl to frown a little. Did she ask the wrong question? Oh, the poor blue haired girl is so bad at this!

It was Sasuke who answered. "We are still picking out dates. We want a day where most weddings don't take place, so we may have reservations available."

"O-Oh, I see!" Hinata mumbled while playing with her fingers nervously. She blushes deeply before she felt a warm arm wrap behind her back, making her spine go straight.

"Ne, don't worry about it, Hinata!" Naruto smiled toothly. "You don't have to be shy around Sakura-chan. She's not too mean to females as much as ma-" smack "EHHHH! SAKURA-CHAN, THAT TOMATO IS BURNING MY EYE, DATTEBAYO!" Naruto cried as he used both hands to rub the red guts from his tanned face, whimpering loudly as Hinata's eyes widen at the sudden action her new, pink haired friend performed.

"Shut up, Naruto," Sakura hissed furiously, sounding so close to a a angry wild cat as Hinata watched her lip curl. "What have I taught you about saying rude things about women?"

"It's gonna get me in a shitload of trouble," Naruto said in a guilty tone. "But it's the tru-!" He got Sakura's dress shoe on his nose before he could finish.

"Hn," Sasuke chuckled softly as he pulled the fussy blossom onto his lap, placing kisses on the side of her head to her cheekbone. "That's my girl."

"Teme!" Naruto yelled. "She's hurting me! Control your woman!"

"Dobe," Sasuke replied while still planting kisses. "I don't control my woman..."

"Whipped," Naruto growled while rubbing his nose harshly and face away from the two. He looked at Hinata with a sudden change of emotion in his blue eyes; no more of an anger, but a innocent and eager. "Hey Hinata, you wanna hang out after school?"

The Hyuuga's eyes widened at the boy's boldness, blushing madly. "U-U-Uhm...we just met! Are you sure you'd wanna-"

"I just figured because you're so nice, thats all," his lips puckered out innocently. He rubbed the back of his head softly and smiled. "Sorry, I guess I was going to fast, ne? I just wanna be friends, Dattebayo!" He picked up Sakura's dress shoe and passed it back to his older sister, who was snuggling against the Uchiha in a loving manner. "We don't have to. I wouldn't know what to do anyway!"

"Huh?"

"I'm kinda new at making friends, honestly," Naruto laughed nervously. "I really don't know what people do around here, so I guess I made a bad move."

"N-no, it wasn't a bad move at all, Naruto-kun!" Hinata waved her hands shyly. "I-I-I'm not good at this either, so don't f-feel bad about it!" She felt better on the inside when Naruto doned that shiny smile that she quickly learned to like...a lot. "M-maybe later down the road, okay?"

"Okay!" Hinata was glad that the blond was himself once more.

She sat cross-legged, with her skirt covering of course, as she watched the couple she just met chat quietly to themselves; minding how Sakura was sitting on her shins (the traditional japanese sitting style) with her hands on her lap as she smiled at her fiance. She allowed him to play with her pink trands with his long fingers, ignoring how the fangirls would growl and call out rude comments to her. Hinata wondered how Sakura was capable of sitting in such numbing position and not yell back at the new fanclub for the black-haired man. Very lady-like and so calm, Hinata began to feel a slight hint of jealousy for her new friend's moves.

Sakura noticed Hinata's long stare and expressed a cheery smile, her green eyes sparkling as she bubbled her cheeks to make her look even more cute, Hinata blushed and looked away. "Hinata-chan, why don't you tell me about yourself? I'm curious of what your hobbies are."

Hinata stared at her lap while she mumbled softly. "Uhm, I don't do a whole lot... I merely study and thats about it. I don't do anything with anyone on weekends unless family comes over." How is she capable of spilling everything to her new friends and not stutter?

"Oh, I understand," Sakura sighed thoughtfully, meeting Hinata's eyes as she poked her own cheek while speaking. "I remember when I had to study and do my work. I really didn't have a personal social life with others', it gets tiring, you know?" She pushed Sasuke's approaching face softly. "My old schooling wasn't so nice either. They were mean to my little sister."

"Ahh, I'm sorry to hear that, Sakura-chan," Hinata frowned lightly. She felt sad thinking of Sakura and her younger sister to be bullied by anyone with such sweet and open personalities; even just meeting her, Hinata felt like she was her friend since the beggining of time.

And Sakura's brother...Uzumaki Naruto was something else to Hinata. She couldn't quite put it on her finger, but the boy was something special; a loud and hyperactive young man who seemed to keep his attention towards Hinata unlike every other boy in her school. She appreciates that and likes it very, very much.

"Hinata-chan," Sakura spoke out of her thoughts, "would you like to come over to our home on Saturday? I'll be making my special tea and cakes, and I'd be most happy if you joined." She lightly clapped her fingers together and puckered her lips, like Naruto did, with her eyes glittering brightly. "I was thinking of trying to invite more people, but I doubt anyone likes tea parties anymore..."

_Tea parties?_

"Oh course, you don't have to," Sakura blinked kindly. "Like you said earlier, we just met, and I wouldn't want to put you in a uncomfortable position. I figured it would be a nice to get together and get to know each other more!"

Hinata wasn't hesitating when she answered with her continuing nods and 'Mm-hm!'. She slowly grew bright red when Sakura squealed, slowly looking to her side to see Naruto brighten as well. If he was a puppy, his tail would be wagging ninety miles an hour.

"Aah, that is wonderful to hear!" Sakura cheered by pumping a fist into the air. "Sasuke-kun, write down the address and give it to Hinata-chan soon."

"Hn." Hinata watched him pull out a pad of paper and a pen from his backpack and began to scribble down the requested note.

"Hinata-chan, I hope you'll enjoy it. I really do love cooking," Sakura chirped. "Is there anything you like to do?"

"Uhm..." Hinata let her mind speak for itself. "I like reading and art; mostly painting and sketches of nature. I like reading big novels... I'm not picky with and genres."

"We have a library," Naruto cut in politely. "Lots of books and we have a garden in the back!" He started beckoning Sasuke to go faster with the writing, who was now flipping the blond off with his free hand.

"T-thank you for inviting me, Sakura-chan," Hinata hummed. "N-not many people like to hang out with me after school hours."

"Oh, why not?" Sakura pouted. "You seem like an oober nice girl, and full of fun!" Red faced Hinata blinked a few times when Sakura pulled the paper away from Sasuke's lap, ripping it from the notebook gracefully and holding it out to her. "We can chat tomorrow on what time you'd like to come over. I bake early in the morning, so it doesn't matter."

Hinata kept her gaze at the pale girl's hand. Blushing deeper that it could've been possible for her pretty little head to pop like a balloon with a pin! She heard the lunch hour bell ring, signaling that their break has ended; suddenly changing the gaze to watch the three new students stand up from the grass. Naruto literally jumped from the ground while Sasuke snaked his way up, Sakura gracefully rose to her feet without any stumble in one swift move.

"Hinata-chan," Sakura pulled Hinata's hand out and carefully placed the folded paper into her palm, making her fingers grip gently before letting go altogether, "see you around, okay? We can talk more later." With that, Sakura turned around, letting her pink waves swish gracefully as she took Sasuke's waiting hand.

Sasuke didn't say a single word to Hinata, concluding that he isn't much of a talker. He laced his fingers with hers and started walking with her as his girl waved behind her before entering the building with the crowd of students.

Hinata noticed that Naruto hasn't left her side yet. She looked up to his taller height in a silent question, making him smile brightly with a slight blush. "Just thought I'd walk you into the building. Wheres' your next class?"

"Uhm, it's in the Chemistry room," Hinata replied. "On the fourth floor."

"Oh! I know that my next class is on the fourth floor! May I walk you there?" He bent his left arm, offering it to her like a true gentlemen. "It would be an honor to escort a nice lady like you." He bowed his head slightly.

Hyuuga Hinata couldn't help but giggle a little, blushing deep as a tomato as she let her shaky hand curl around his elbow and grip tightly. "A-a-arigato, Naruto-kun."

=xxx=

Hinata was in her Chemistry class, not really listening to the movie her classmates were told to watch and take important notes on (since she already saw the film last year). She was doodling again in her notebooke, finishing the butterfly from last period; thoughtfully minding herself to mix in the color blue to change it up a bit. The note that Sakura gave her, containing the address of where she said she would attend on Sautrday, was sticking out of her binder. She hasn't looked at it yet, but suddenly gave the piece of notebook paper the thought and silently pulled it out from in between the piles of notebooks she stuffed in, setting down her colorful pen to open it carefully.

She was surprised to find a whole map of the town, details containing houses, trees, shops and even business buildings that Hinata wasn't aware of being there. She let her eyes travel to the school building, that was circled with the writing 'start here' under it. Little dashes marked sidewalk paths that she was being instructed to take to out of town... weird, she didn't know they lived that far away from school. Usually civilians live in this one big part on the southern side of town in complexes and big homes, but they live north from the school. She saw that the end of the journey would be just a step out of the town's boundary line.

Wait a moment.

She knows that place. She dug out her cell phone and pressed in the written address above the large 'x' signaling the finish, pressing search on the touchscreen; instantly getting the results off of the search engine of '**The Uchiha Mansion**'. The Uchiha Mansion was actually a compound of one-floor houses being dominated by a large mansion. It was surrounded with acres of greenery and forest; large, iron gates seal it off from the rest of the world, unable to get intruders to go and explore the place. From what Hinata knew from the gossip back in Junior High, the place was deserted and haunted by the family that used to live there a many centuries ago.

Story went that there was a wonderful couple with two lovely children that occupied the mansion, the rest of the family's branches of siblings, aunts, uncles, and elders lived in the other homes that lived around it. It was a wonderful time for the Uchihas', the head of the household was rich and was a hard-working business man of international trading, bringing imported goods all over Japan itself. The wife, who was said to be the true beauty of the time, was a stage performer of singing and small plays in town: she retold Shakespeare and sung her own tunes to echant anyone who heard her voice. The two were madly in love and adored one anothers company, thus popping out two boys for additional company of joy. The eldest son was promised to be a doctor of the town, saving sick children from flu epidemics that threatened the town's population back in the day; the youngest son was not yet proven to be anything, but a child who wanted to explore the world himself and then settle down with a wife and start his own family. The mansion was something else -Hinata couldn't remember- but ten years ago, somehow in some way, there was construction workers building a mansion on a private payment. It was the greatest juice when she was a child, watching her parents talk about who could've let people into the compound and concluded with their friends that it was distant relatives who suddenly found the property. The result of the family from so long ago had many theories: murder, disappearance, suicide of the whole family, the epidemic wiped them out in one night...

Hinata didn't know, but she was now more eager to see the compound itself; smiling at the idea that her new companion was the distant relatives of the mysterious rumors. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world as she looked over the detailed map that was written in pen.

=xxx=

"Mn, that Sasuke-kun is really something else, isn't he?" the red head girl Hinata spoke to early in the morning said to her blond friend. "Ohh, how I hate that pink haired brat that clings to him all the time!"

"You said it," her friend agreed with a simple nod. "I don't like her. She seems like a Little Miss Perfect, ugh!" Both girls let out shrieks of giggles in the deserted hallway in the back of Building Two, where they would skip class and hang out with other student. But, just for today, they plan to be alone and talk within themselves of their close friendship.

They made their way around the corner to find the three soda machines that contained pop, tea, coffee, etc. They were surprised at the fact that the Uchiha Sasuke was gazing to the numerous names _alone. _Their giggling was cut short when they saw the black haired god meeting their gazes with a small, seductive smirk that made their faces melt.

"Hello ladies," Sasuke said with a small nod towards them.

"Sasuke-kun!" they both squealed at the sudden attention he was giving to them besides his girl. Speaking of which, where is she?

Sasuke rubbed his fine chin with his long fingers when the ladies asked the question. "Oh, she's somewhere around here. I'm looking for a drink, it is very warm out today, no?" He turned his head to find the two teenage girls nodding in agreement without hesitation, letting his smirk widen a bit. "Do you know any good..._drinks _that I could possibly have? I must say that my thirst is very _painful, _if you know what I mean." Sasuke offered a quick wink, letting the redhead girl puff her cheeks and the blond giggling uncontrollably.

"W-what do you like to drink, Sasuke-kun?" the redhead girl purred. She felt her own knees buckle when he stride over in a smoothe motion, resting his toned arm against the wall to close in both girls into the corner. "W-we kn-know a kid who has beer in his truck!"

"Nah, I like something _stronger,_" Sasuke shook his head slowly. "Something that you two lovely ladies probably haven't took the time of your life to try."

"What is it called?" the blond blushed and, daringly, reached to stroke his uniform shirt with her hand. "I'd like to try it, ya know."

"Me too," the redhead pressed in to the side of her friend and touch his raven locks. "Oh, Sasuke-kun! Your hair is so soft!"

The Uchiha closed his eyes slowly, noticed by the two girls that his eyes were slowly rolling back in a pleasurable way, making them blush deeper. "The drink is something that not many people try when you ask them; they would find it rather _discusting, _and the upmost _disturbing."_ He tilt his head to the side, exposing the beautiful neck that any girl would adore to touch and kiss, and slowly opened his eyes to cause both girls to stiffen in shock. His black eyes were no more, now the color of crimson and a small black design of moving commas of three, piercing into the girls' eyes and straight into their tempted souls. "Have you ever tried blood before?"

The girls did not reply, too connected into the spell that Sasuke set on them with his eyes to even notice the sharp canines that was sticking out of his mouth when he spoke in a low tone.

Sasuke chuckled darkly, pushing the strands of long hair away from the redhead's neck. "Well, blood is something I have to live off of, and so does Sakura," he watched the two girls pupils dialate. "But my dear Sakura can't get it herself; she is too scared to get it, like she's scared that she would hurt the person she gets it from. Sakura is very shy about letting out her inner animal..." the redhead tried to speak, but all that came out was gurgles, making him smirk bigger. "Since I love my precious girl so much, I took the job of supplying her food she needs to be in the sun. I am the head of my family after all..." With that, Sasuke dropped his jaw as wide as he could and sank his teeth into the redhead's neck while the blond girl kept staring ahead where the youthful man once stood.

The girl Sasuke was sucking the blood out of let out a muffled sob, but didn't scream in pain for cried out for help. Her dilated eyes drooped sleepishly, suddenly acting numb in the legs. After a few minutes, Sasuke disconnected his mouth from her neck, letting her fall limp to the cemented ground, grinding her knees and scraping the skin before turning to the blond, who was still as stone.

"Smoker," Sasuke muttered with a small hiss in his voice, close to a snake sound as he tilted the remaining girl's chin up, watching her swallow before gripping his fangs into her throat animalistic-like. "Lets hope you're not the same!" He sank his teeth and began to suck harder then the previous victim.

Sasuke already noticed the small shadow behind him, watching him curiously as he released the last girl to fall by her companion. The puncture wounds on their necks slowly dissolved with the intense stare of the red eyes as the man wiped the very small strand of blood that barely escaped his lips with his tongue. He opened his eyes to be back to his normal coal gems.

"Sasuke-kun," the voice from the shadow hummed adorably with her hips swaying, staying put in her little hiding spot.

Sasuke turned around and walked to the corner of the soda machine and pulled the tiny pale hand. He wrapped his other hand around her waist and started to step in a rhythm of a slow paced waltz, humming teasingly as Sakura squirmed in his firm hold. She squealed childishly and told Sasuke to stop it.

"Why should I, Mrs. Uchiha?" Sasuke asked lazily as he dipped her back, letting her head fall back to let out a soft laugh for him to easily peck her beautiful neck. "I bring bacon home and you don't reward me with a dance? That is awfully rude, you know." He nibbled her collar bone and brought her back up.

"I'm thirsty, Sasuke-kun," Sakura whimpered as he continued to kiss and bite her soft skin. She pressed her head against his, wrapping her arms around his neck in a affectionate manner as she let her -dark green- eyes look down onto the two unconsious girls, a slight frown reached her lips. "I didn't like it when they touched your hair, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn," Sasuke muttered against her skin. "I don't like them. They smell like smoke and rising hormones."

She pulled his head back and gave him a serious look. "What are they dreaming about?"

"Getting lucky with the football captain at the same time," he said with a uninterested expression. "I don't understand how people nowadays support the idea of threesomes. It's not natural in any way."

"Menage a trois was popular in France, remember?" Sakura poked his nose with a little smile. "I remember when a lot of women asked if I could join them in eighteen-fourteen."

"You're mine," Sasuke hissed sharply, making her giggle.

"Oui," Sakura spoke in a fluent French accent. "But I'm thirsty, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura began to lightly trace the faint blue vein that lingered on Sasuke's strong neck, causing him to shiver pleasurably. "The sun is starting to make me feel uncomfortable, Sire Uchiha."

"Not. My. Name." Sasuke touched his nose with hers'. "What have we agreed on that particular calling?"

Sakura went onto her toes to reach his shoulders, pressing her doll-like lips to his chin, lightly kissing his skin and began to trail down his jaw. "Sasuke-kun does not find it pleasing that the girl he has his eye for to call him such a high ranking name." She brushed her mouth to his ear and breathed down his neck. "Especially after the point he gives her gifts and makes her smile; the calling of 'Sire Uchiha' makes him feel like he has a slave, which is not what Uchihas live before. I am part of the union of the Uchihas, and therefor, I must call call my husband of many centuries by his first name."

"Hn, very good, Sakura," he praised professionally. He bent his neck to the side and wrapped both arms around Sakura's small waist. "Dinner is served, my dear."

Sakura closed her eyes and sunk her tiny canine teeth into his exposed neck, gently sucking her meal out of him. Her small hands comb through his raven hair and recieved a approving purr from Sasuke's lips; pressing her body closer as she felt her teeth shrink as she took one last pint in a matter of seconds. She dettached her lips from his skin and opened her eyes to show her bright sparkles. The light green hue of her eyes let Sasuke nod in approval and swept this thumb across her chin to remove the spots of blood Sakura spilled during her meal, leaving his digit to trace her lower lip as she smiled thoughtfully.

"Arigato, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn," Sasuke kissed her mouth with passion, not planning to let her get away anytime soon. Besides, Sakura and Sasuke are done with their classes for the day and Naruto was not here to annoy him while he was 'busy' with his most tolerable, (which means his favorite in both companion's opinion), girl in the whole universe. He doesn't get silent moments like this with Sakura since they arrived in Japan, mostly for many reasons of unpacking, decorating, and Sakura socializing while Naruto clung to her side like a lovable boy...

But Sakura was his girl, and he doesn't share.

Sakura was getting tired of the attention Sasuke was giving her mouth, letting her hand begin to _glow _with a soft blue-green mist as she chucked Sasuke away, letting flickers of her odd flames dissolve instantly when he landed gracefull on his keep a foot away from her.

"Can't you ever wait until we get home, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked with her arms crossed. "Students get in trouble if they get caught doing something...naughty within school property. You know that!"

Sasuke shrugged lazily. "I've seen it in movies. Sometimes movies give false ideas of what school is like." He pressed the tip of his fingers on her hips, which was unfortunate for Sasuke because he wanted to touch more of the soft skin that his girl had when she was not hungry. "Besides, I want to keep practicing."

Sakura made a face of annoyance. "The practice we've been doing for _way, way, way_ too many years, Sasuke-kun! Girls get sore after a while, cha!" she stomped her petite foot on the ground. "We can practice when it's time to conceive; a lot of time to try!"

"Sasuke wants to succeed on the first try," Sasuke pointed out in third person. "Uchihas don't keep trying when it's time."

"Your parents did," Sakura pouted her lower lip with big eyes.

"We're not my parents," Sasuke pecked her cheek, causing his girl to wrap her arms around his neck once more and snuggle into the crook of his neck with her nose. "When we get you fixed I don't plan on letting you leave the room for anything until we're done, understood?"

"And you said you don't control your woman," Sakura 'humph'-ed. She let her fingers play with a spikey strand of Sasuke's super-soft hair as she changed her tone. "Can we go home now, Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn." Sasuke pulled away from her and took her small hand with his large one, starting to walk quietly away from the still unconsious teenagers that they feasted on only a few moments ago.

After fifteen minutes, the two girls woke up with heated faces, giggling to each other as they got up from the ground and make it on time to re-enter the school before the ending bell. They walked through the crowded hallway, trying so hard not to bump into anyone, but they failed as they ram into a tanned skin, blond hair man, who was carrying his backpack on one shoulder.

Uzumaki Naruto could tell just by inhaling their scent that they were missing blood. Letting a sigh escape his lips and walk around the two fuming girls, he exited the school and walked to the sidewalk.

"Man, Teme is gonna be pissed when I burst into the room," Naruto muttered playfully with a evil smile on his face. He thought hard of his plan to intrupt Sasuke's game with his precious Sakura. Of course, he will recieve a deadly beating from Sasuke about how he intrupted him and his wife during their 'bonding time', and will get a very long lecture from Sakura on how trying to look at her exposed skin was not alright with her.

He can remember the first time he walked in on the two couple at the age of ten. Thanks to Sasuke, he told the youngster that it was a very bad idea to go into the Uchiha's bedroom at night, since there was a brutal monster that dwelled inside (thanks to Sakura's ancient folktales about spirits and monsters of Japan) and it ate little boys who lingered passed the Uchiha's private quarters.

_Despite being the stubborn ten year-old he was, Uzumaki Naruto was desperately afraid of thunderstorms. He didn't like saying that he was afraid of them infront of Sasuke, so he always whispers it into Sakura's ear before bed and have her tell him bedtime stories to let him fall asleep before turning in with her husband. He was always happy to have Sakura give him sweet treatment when Sasuke won't._

_So, on the night when it was thunderstorming really hard, Naruto stood outside the closed bedroom shoji door where Sasuke and Sakura slept. He called out a few times for Sakura-neechan, but nothing could be made out with the harsh raindrops and thunder crashing. Naruto held his teddy bear, Mr. WubWub, as tight as he could; whimpering with his pouted lip quivering as he stared at the closed door._

_"Sakura-neechan!" Naruto cried out childishly. He pawed at the wooden frame as carefully as he could, chanting over the rain that pounded more harshly to the minutes that passed. It wasn't until the lightning bolt that striked just outside the open wall that served as a hallway for their home, making the frightened young boyburst into the room to scream for them._

_"ONEE-CHAN! ONII-CHAN! THERE IS-"_

_"YOU LITTLE TWIT! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!"_

Naruto smiled at the memory of reactions of the two being caught redhanded. He didn't see as much as you would expect; basically because of the fact that he didn't have night vision like them and there was a blanket covering them, Sasuke was ontop of Sakura so he didn't see her chest, thank goodness. He learned that early morning of how when two people love each other very much, and every once in a while (which in Sasuke's term was everyday) they need to express their love for each other in special ways! Adults were complicated to Naruto back then, but when they brought him into the world of vampires, he learned quickly that the world was full of things that humans should not know about.

He was thankful that his adopted family accepted his questions and his way of life into their lives, saving his life on his eighteenth birthday when they were living in Kyoto. Sasuke was the one who changed Naruto for the sake of making sure he would be _complete _compared to Sakura...

_But that would be saved for another day, dear reader._

=xxx=

AUTHOR'S END NOTE

I couldn't resist the idea of Sasuke seducing two horny teenagers and Sakura being the stubborn little wife she would be. Don't sue me, but I got the idea for the 'dream' from _21 Jump Street _my two friends forced me to watch; it was an okay movie in my opinion, but I didn't like watching Johnny Depp getting shot in the throat. I love that actor too much to sit still and watch the rest without screaming my head off. Yeah, I screamed my head off when Johnny Depp was killed!

So what did you think of Naruto's first memory as a child? :D Adorable, no? Haha, he was actually a very good kid, but him and Sasuke would be like cats and dogs when it came to attention from Sakura. (Oh, her boys).

So many questions left unanswered, some of the previous thoughts lingering in your mind might have been cured by this chapter. But there is more brainteasing to come! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Have a nice day, people. ;3


	3. Chapter 3

Hnnn~! *twirls in chair* I should've thought this story a bit better, you know? I was orignally doing this for when I get Writers Block on DigiAcademy, but now I can't stop writing stuff for this! Bleh, it isn't fair for me ;w; I plan so hard on DigiAcademy, but this story just comes from the top of my head and now I have ANOTHER story I'd like to start. Why does this happen to me? Hue, please save me from my insanity and kick my butt back to my original story!

I would like to point out right away that the two girls Sasuke fed off on in the last chapter was NOT Karin and Ino (aka, the redhead and blond chick). They play an important role in this story that doesn't count being the teenagers in Hinata's school that adore the vampire novels and bicker over who is hotter; Ino's character is, of course, Naruto's 'twin' and Sakura's 'younger sister' (not really a spoil alert), and she is currently back in Seoul with her husband and stuff C: Karin... that will be a bit of a surprise, because I feel like I'm giving too much information anyway on Karin's character. Will she be a fangirl for Sasuke? I dunno yet xD I prefer not to have her be that way (because I see Karin as a stronger character with personality without Sauce-gay clouding her thoughts), but who wouldn't fall for the Uchiha bloodlines? Not me, personally...

Anyhoo! I hope everyone is having a good day and will enjoy the third chapter of Wilting Roses. Review and whichever to make Kitty a happy fuzzball and have a great day! *sparkle chu*

=xxx=

Wilting Roses

Chapter Three- Harder To Breathe

**Uzumaki Naruto; Age Six, 1930s'**

_Little Naruto peeked around the wall to watch two taller figures making graceful moves across the livingroom's wooden floor; not making a single noise with their feet, but the sound of the record player cracked on the scratches it recieved over the years of constant moving. His big blue eyes followed the long obi sash that hung loose from the tied bow, circling around the two dancers as the leading male spun him and his partner around quickly to make her giggle like an angel._

_Naruto's fat cheeks tinted pink when he heard the pretty voice he adored so much. Jeepers, even he dreams of the voice singing him to a wonderful dream at night. He watched the blossom designs on the sash halt and begin to swish to the instruments of the song, letting his eyes trail up the fabric to the kimono design of red with the small uchiwa fan stitched professionally on the bottom of the collar, lightly covered with chopped pink strands of shining hair._

_Naruto always thought of Sakura as the most prettiest girl he has ever seen. He fell in love with every movement she made in her tightly wrapped body and her bright smile that put him to ease whenever he was upset or scared; a smile of a young woman who would make a perfect mother one day... Naruto wished he was the tall, dark and handsome man who was leading his little crush around in the dance._

_Uchiha Sasuke served as like an older brother to Naruto rather then a father figure. He knows he is not the kind of man who would tuck Naruto in and tell him bedtime stories like Sakura does, but Naruto doesn't mind it. He likes to pick fights with Sasuke, even at a young age, and try to get on his bad side during meals: usually poking his ribs and always says 'Oi, Teme-chan! Teme! Teme!' until Sakura herself roughly smacks his behind with her fan. He was also a little jealous of Sasuke because of Sakura; but Sakura tells him every night, after he says he loves Sakura with all his heart, that someday he will find his own princess. That gives the little kid hope for his future if he would have to say goodbye to Sakura and Sasuke._

_The six year-old watched as Sasuke slightly tightened his arm around Sakura's tiny waist and pulled her hand in his other to bring their bodies closer. He touched his perfect nose with her little one as he made a playful purr from his throat, letting Naruto to grow his curiosity by crawling on all fours to get a closer look by the couch._

_Sasuke began humming the lyrics of the English song that Naruto couldn't really understand since he can't speak English at all. He rest his forehead against Sakuras' and whispered to her in soft tones that Naruto could hear with his human ears._

_"Lady Sakura," Sasuke hummed with a smirk on his lips, "how could I have been the luckiest man in the world to get a chance to dance with you?"_

_"Well, Sir Sasuke-kun," Sakura giggled at his name, "I actually have a long list of other gentlemen who are waiting for their turn. You are actually at the very bottom."_

_"Hn, Uchihas can get up the list in a snap," Sasuke mused._

_"But Geisha's lists are confidential, Sasuke-kun," gasped the pink haired girl in a fake shock. "You know the punishment for wandering eyes into the Geisha's private papers!"_

_"I don't care. As long as I get to be near this particular beauty, I don't give a damn at all," Sasuke smirked bigger as he knelt down to kiss her soft lips possessively. He murmured against her mouth as he spoke. "I might have to steal you from your okiya tonight, Sa-ku-ra."_

_Sakura giggles echoed the whole room as he kept kissing her, dipping her back carefully with a firm grip. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back as she felt her body getting closer to the ground, opening her bright green jades to look around the room...meeting blue orbs that was peeking behind the couch._

_"Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered softly as her husband began to nibble her jaw softly. She smiled as he grunted, obviously keeping himself busy with her skin. "Sasuke-kun, we have company." She pointed with her covered hand over to the couch, having the Uchiha follow her gaze._

_"Naruto," Sasuke said, signaling that the little kid was caught redhanded by the meanie. He placed Sakura down on the floor to let her sit on her shins like she usually does, sitting next to her and took hold of her hands while sitting cross-legged after removing the needle from the record player to stop the music._

_Sakura waved her free hand to beckon the little blond over. "Come here, honey. Why are you up so early in the morning? You should be sleeping another few hours or you'll be tired."_

_Naruto clung to his teddy bear, that he named Mr. WubWub, as he wobbled his way to the two vampires. He plopped on his bottom with his legs sticking out from his nightgown as he gazed up to meet their eyes. "I had a very bad dream, Onee-chan... I was too scared to go back to sleep."_

_Sakura's doll-like lips pouted for her little friend. "Oh, thats too bad. Did it feel real to you, Naruto?" When the toddler nodded really fast and hid his face in Mr. WubWub's head, Sakura tugged on his little feet to get his attention. "Well, we can't have a little boy be up at this hour, can we? Do you want a bedtime story?"_

_"Yes please," the little boy perked up instantly._

_The dark haired man craned his neck, stretching lazily as he got up from the ground. "I can do it tonight, Sakura. You go get ready for bed before the sun comes up." He crouched on his knees and stuck his arms out. When the little kid didn't move from his spot, he wiggled his long fingers. "Come on, buddy. I'm not going to hurt you."_

_"You told him that last time when he buried your katana," Sakura muttered as she rose in one move. She gave Naruto a little smile and winked at him. "It's okay, honey. Sasuke-kun is good at telling stories, too. Goodnight!" She scurried off out of the room and closed the shoji door that held Sasuke and Sakura's futon._

_Sasuke picked up the whining blond and held him against his strong chest. Naruto buried his face in his shoulder with Mr. WubWub squished with him, listening to the strong heartbeat that the vampire possessed unlike his wife who had no heartbeat. He carried the little boy back to his bedroom and placed him on the padded bedding they arranged for him. He pried the toddler's little fingers off from his neck and covered him with the thick quilt that kept him warm in the cold night._

_"Alright, kid," Sasuke sighed softly as he sat on the edge of the bed. "What kind of story would you like to hear?"_

_"Onii-chan," the little boy's blue eyes looked up him, "I wanna hear the story of how you met Onee-chan. When she was human!"_

_Uchiha Sasuke ran his fingers through his spikey hair, inhaling as he heard the kid's request before replying in his cool tone. "That was a very long time ago, kid...centuries ago." He pressed his nails to his chin as his eyes went dark into the memories his great, wise mind possessed. "Okay, I think I can tell you it for tonight... but it may scare you a bit. Your older sister didn't have an easy life, you know."_

_"I dun care," Naruto pouted stubbornly. "I'm a man! I can take it, Teme!"_

_Uchiha Sasuke smirked at the kid's strong will to hear the tale of himself and his wife from many, many, many years before. "Alright, you've been warned, Dobe."_

_=xxx=_

Friday

Hyuuga Hinata slipped the drawing of the directions into her bookbag before she went into the sleek black car to be driven off to school. She had a smile on her face, which surprised all the maids and butlers at the Hyuuga estate when she was eating her healthy breakfast of cooked eggs and fruit; taking the bento package her personal chef prepared for her and squealed in excitement.

Hyuuga Hinata doesn't squeal in excitement.

On the ride to school, which was about fifteen minutes, Hinata was busying herself by playing with her long hair. As if she never seen her beautiful hair before, she was smiling softly with a great amount of sparkles in her pale eyes. The driver would ask if she's excited for a test today, but she would reply silently by shaking her head slowly before seeing herself being pulled into the school's enterance.

"Thank you so much for the ride!" Hinata waved cheerfully before hopping out of the leathered vehicle. She didn't notice how the driver, who has been escorting the young teenager since she was in kindergarden, was expressing a nervous look since he has never seen her act this way; usually sitting with her back straight and empty eyes, but today was different for sure.

She walked into the open yard of the school, eyeing every teenage clique and group in their usual hanging spots, keeping their business within their own grounds as she passed them without a second glance. No one really ever spoke to Hinata in the morning, unless it was a question for homework or what was to be studied for the upcoming exams, which let the Hyuugs heiress roam quietly like a mouse she was. Hinata was used to being quiet, but today was something different in the world of reality.

"Hinata-chaaan!" a feminine voice echoes across the schoolyard, having every head turn to the source of the sound in a instant. "Hinata-chan, we're over here!"

Hinata looked to see Uzumaki Sakura wave elegantly, perched on a giant rock that was under an old crabapple tree. She noticed that Uchiha Sasuke was sitting right behind her, with his legs on either side of her hips and his arms wrapped around her tiny waist; not showing any expression on his pretty face as she hurried over to them.

"Goodmorning, Hinata-chan," Sakura smiled brightly. "How are you this morning?"

"I-I...I'm fine, Sakura-chan!" Hinata finally blushed for the first time today. "How about y-you?" She began to fidget with her index fingers adorably, hearing Sakura giggle at her shy reaction.

"I am very good, thank you for asking!" Sakura gushed by clapping her cheeks with her hands. "Sasuke-kun took me on a tour around town last night before dinner, but Naruto wouldn't come with us. Maybe you could show him someday? He won't be anywhere near Sasuke-kun after school."

Hinata blinked a few times before nodding softly with a smile. "I'd love to help him out."

Sakura perked a toothy smile before throwing her head back against Sasuke's shoulder, literally screaming as loud as she could to make the Uchiha shiver from the ringing in his ear. "Naruto! Get your butt down here and say goodmorning to Hinata-chan! Sasuke-kun and I taught you to be a gentlemen, didn't we?"

"HAAAAI!" a hyper voice came from above. Hinata let her curious eyes look up to the giant tree to see Uzumaki Naruto hanging from one of the branches that was thick enough to hold one person...but swinging from it, it would easily cause the branch to break. Naruto swung his lower body and launched himself to fall. "I'M COMIN' DOWN!"

"Ohmygod!" Hinata cried out. She began to flap her arms around and begin jumping. "He's gonna fall! What in the heck is he-"

Naruto landed on his feet and sprang up to greet the frightened girl. "Heya! How ya doin', Hinata? I could see you from all the way up there!" He pointed to where he was just having a good time moments ago. "You all look like little ducklings!"

"Naruto," Sakura hissed like a cat, startling Hinata again, "you can't treat Hinata-chan like that after she has agreed to help you get to know the town!"

"I-I-It's okay, S-Sakura-chan!" Hinata waved her hand.

"Mn, Hinata-chan, I wanted to ask you what kind of cakes you like to eat," Sakura changed the subject straight away, not forgetting to glare at the blond who scurried back to the trunk of the tree. "And your favorite tea, too! I want to see if I can make it from scratch."

Hinata formed her lips to a small 'o' shape. "Ano, mint tea is my most favorite. My favorite cake is...I'm not too picky!" Hinata squirmed with her hands. "Anything that is sweet, I suppose."

"Oh good!" Sakura clapped with joy. "Did you pick a time you wanted to come over?"

"Uhm..." Hinata was quick with her thinking, but not processing it all too well. "Would ten in the morning be alright with you? Just so I have time to find my way."

Sakura nodded. "That is perfectly fine with me, cha!" Sakura suddenly squirmed when Sasuke pulled her onto his lap, planting kisses on her cheekbone.

"O-okay..." Hinata agreed willingly, suddenly being pulled by a strong, warm hand towards the tree. She looked over to see Naruto leading her to the trunk of the crabapple tree, having a bright smile on his tanned face. "Naruto-kun...wha-what are you doing?"

"Gotta leave the two lovebirds alone once in a while," Naruto hummed as he looked up the tree. "I thought I'd show ya how to sit on a tree branch! You seem like you never done it before, so I thought I'd be the gentlemen in teaching you."

"Uhm, you d-don't have to!" Hinata insisted, trying to tug away. "I'm not so good at heights, Naruto-kun!" She couldn't escape the young man's gentle grasp and finally whined in defeat.

"I won't let you fall, Hinata! I promise you," Naruto claimed as he stuck out his pinky finger with his free hand, offering to sign the deal with her. His eyes were soft and very warm to Hinata, reminding her heart that it's not used to beating so hard and so fast within the minute. "I promise, Hinata..."

Hinata couldn't stop her own free hand to raise itself and intertwin her pinky with his, gripping hard onto his promise, she nodded slowly to him and offered a soft smile. "I trust you, Naruto-kun. It's alright."

The blond boy jumped in victory, pumping a fist into the air. "Dattebayo! Alright, I'll get you to at least sit on that branch since it's lower, okay?" He pointed the the branch that was only six-to-seven feet off the ground, making Hinata gulp a little. "I'll just set you on the branch, so you can get the feel of it!" With that, the Uzumaki brother scooped Hinata from the ground.

"A-Ano!"

"It's alright!" Naruto chuckled, settling her on the branch in a second. Hinata was confused on how Naruto managed to get himself up high enough to reach the branch. Granted, Naruto was the same height as Sasuke, but both barely reach the height of six feet tall regardless! He made sure Hinata was secured and comfortable before taking a seat next to the blushing girl on the same branch. "See? It's perfectly safe with me here!"

Hinata played with her fingers as she childishly looked at him. She smiled sweetly at his protective attitude, seeing his hand on the other side of her for back support (oh yes, she's blushing here, too); feeling absolute calm with his presence. Hinata has really never felt this safe with anyone before, not even her parents holding her hands when she was little. It was nice for Hinata to feel so safe with her brand-new friends, like she has known them since forever and dreams to have good times with them in the near future.

Naruto felt Hinata's shoulder press hesitantly against him, smiling toothly as he returned the touch by moving his hand closer to her side. He looked over his shoulder to check on Sasuke and Sakura's spot on the giant rock...

Sasuke was staring at the blond boy with the glare of a death sentence, his lip slowly curling up in a attempt to expose his large canine fang to prick his lovely lip. His black coal eyes were slowly bleeding red with three commas swirling at Naruto as a warning. Uchiha Sasuke was _not happy_ at Naruto's action of carrying Hinata and climb the tree with just his feet seven feet into the air, a typical vampire move that was not noticed by humans, but that didn't matter; Naruto knew the rules Sasuke had set years ago on Naruto's eighteenth birthday of what he can and can not do with his new given power.

Naruto smiled brightly at the ice cubed man, exposing his own fangs behind Hinata's soft head, mocking the elderly vampire that he certainly didn't give a damn of what Sasuke thought about his action, as long as no human saw what he performed. He closed his mouth instantly when Hinata turned her head to face him with a soft smile.

"Naruto-kun, I like it a lot up here," Hinata confessed with a rosy blush to her cheeks. "Thank you for getting me up on the branch... I'd like to try going higher next time!"

Naruto laughed jolly, his perfect teeth set in a flat, straight line. "Haha! That's great, Hinata! Of course I would take you up next time!"

=xxx=

Naruto's skull was slammed forcefully against the cemented brick wall, the sound of cracking minerals echoed in his ears, but no sound of bones breaking was heard. He groaned in slight pain (but mostly annoyance) as the collar of his shirt was grabbed by a very pale hand, pushing his whole body up against the wall he was thrown at previously.

Damn, Uchiha Sasuke was _pissed._

"You little shit," the animalistic growl escaped Sasuke's lips. "What in the _fuck _were you thinking?"

Naruto had a pass from his fifth hour class to use the restroom, which really is what he uses to walk around the school for three minutes to pretend to be peeing, when Sasuke literally threw him out the open window of the fourth floor, landing face first on the grass. After the landing, Sasuke grabbed him on the back of the head and dragged him behind the school's courtyard and smacked his skull to the cement. Naruto didn't feel any pain whatsoever, but he certainly felt something when Sasuke skid his face across the wall...

"What'ya talking about, Sasuke?" Naruto chuckled softly. "I was just helping Hinata out in getting up in the tree, Dattebayo!"

"Don't give me that, Dobe," Sasuke's snake-like hiss sent shivers down his spine. "You know you can perform such movements infront of the human population!" He pushed Naruto harder against the wall with his fist, reality would show that it would've killed a full grown human man, Naruto felt little pressure against his ribcage. "I figured you'd take another week or so until you did something so stupid."

"Well, sorry that I wanted to have fun once in a while with Hinata," Naruto hissed back as best as he could. "It's not really my fault that you make all these rules just to be around humans during the day!"

"Must I remind you that these _rules _are what keep you _alive _with humans, you moronic toad," Sasuke defeated Naruto's thoughts in a instant. "It's what kept Sakura safe from all those years ago and I for many centuries. You, on the other hand, don't seem to grasp the idea that people nowadays don't understand the idea of blood-sucking creatures living as their neighbors or honorable students. Do you see my idea?"

"Yeah," Naruto sighed in defeat.

"You really are testing my nerves, Naruto. You don't get the fact that someone, especially Hyuuga, can't get the idea of our kind living side-by-side." He let go of Naruto's dress shirt, letting him drop his rear to the ground. He tugged his uniform tie loose as he looked down onto the annoyed blond. "You've seen what happened when we tried to bring a human into the dark...it never ends good for their mortal lives."

"But thats why we change them, right?" Naruto raked his hair with his fingers.

"Wrong," Sasuke hissed again, making the boy shiver. "Purebloods change humans because they lack company nowdays... Loneliness is something that our kind can not adapt in a healthy way, usually changing their looks on life of blood and murder on the innocent humans. I chosed Sakura to be my companion years ago, but I did not change her to join me in the dark; I wanted her to be able to live a normal life until then!" Sasuke didn't notice in time to silence himself to see Sakura standing behind him, watching the two boys argue over the subject. His eyes widen at the sense of his wife and turned to face her.

Sakura's eyes were shiny with slight tears. "Sasuke-kun...it's not only Purebloods who can't adapt to loneliness. Naruto feels it, too." She let her gaze look down to her black shoes, tracing the designs with her green orbs. "Naruto wants to be himself with Hinata, and I understand that..."

"Sakura, I-"

"Weren't you the same way with me, Sasuke-kun? Did you lack companionship that you wished to be yourself infront of me when I had a heartbeat? Don't let Naruto suffer the pain of being unable to be himself with his new friend; he needs someone who doesn't understand him to get to know him."

Sasuke was silent when Sakura looked into Naruto's eyes, giving him a message that only she was able to give to him: the sign of hope and the sign that everything will be alright between him and Sasuke, despite his icy attitude towards the young lad at the moment.

"Naruto, why don't you get back to class now. Sasuke-kun and I are going home." She waved two fingers, telling him that he should hurry with his attempt. She watched him scramble from the dirty ground and climb up the cemented wall to hop into the window.

Sakura walked slowly towards the silent man, wrapping her arms around his neck in a loving gesture as she tangled her pale fingers in his raven hair. She went onto her toes and pulled his head down to kiss him gently, finally recieving her lover to wrap his strong arms around her and kiss her back. He was stubborn to pull away, but kept his mouth attatched to some sort of her skin as she pressed her thumb inbetween their mouths, kissing the thumb softly as Sakura took the time to speak.

"Sasuke-kun," Sakura started, "you know he's still a child on the inside. He is Kushina's son after all with Minato's personality." She let him take her wrist and begin kissing her palm with small love bites. "Don't punish him so hard when he only wishes to be friendly with Hinata, okay?"

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, not moving his mouth away from her hand. "Fine."

Sakura smiled her usual smile as she pulled her hand away to go back behind his neck, kissing his cheek lightly as she whispered in his ear. "And if you ever get angry, you can always take it out on me, Sa-su-ke-kun," she hummed in a seductive voice, making Sasuke's eyes widen a bit in surprise.

The eyes of Sasuke's emotion of surprising tone changed to a dirty smirk in the matter of minutes. "I'm going to have to hold that against you, Sakura. You're making a deal with a vampire, remember?"

"Yes," Sakura nodded, suddenly out of his firm grasp and is now on the other side of the courtyard, hiding behind a tree with her hips shaking teasingly. "But you'd have to catch me first! Cha!" With a simple wink of her eye, Sakura was out of sight.

Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle darkly as he sensed Sakura moving at the speed of light in the forest behind the school, passing by herds of deer at this point as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and began to walk cooly into the woods, humming a simple song.

Naruto watched as Sasuke's shadow disappeared into the forest, leaning against the windowsill as he watched the trees brush against the wind, sighing deeply as his thoughts went over what happened minutes ago; slamming his own head against the wooden frame of the window, cursing to himself as he made a move to return to his class.

"Horny old man," Naruto muttered.

=xxx=

Hinata was surprised to find Naruto waiting for her outside of her last hour at the end of the day. He was just leaning against the wall with one food against it, his arms crossed in a comforting as he expressed a bright smile to the girl, making her blush madly and return the smile with a wiggle of her fingers in a greeting. She scurried off to him and straightened her back to try and meet his gaze from inches above her.

"Naruto-kun! What are you doing here?" she asked without a single stutter, but her volume was a bit too low.

Naruto smiled bigger. "I figured I would be the gentlemen I am and walk you home!" He kicked himself off of the wall and stuck out his elbow just like yesterday's sweet gesture. "Only if you want to, I could also see what the town looks like on the walk. I haven't gotten out a whole lot last night to check it out." He winked sweetly at the blushing girl who slowly took hold of his strong arm. She noted how warm he felt over the uniform sleeve.

"I-I'd love that," Hinata sputtered adorably, making the Uzumaki brother smile as he lead the girl through the thick crowds of teenagers eyeing them with curiosity. "S-so, uhm, I'm coming over to your house on Saturday."

"Yeah, I know," Naruto replied calmly with a sparkling twinkle in his blue eyes. "Sakura-chan has been talking about it since you two made the plans. I'm excited for you to come over, too! I'd like to take you out on a walk in the backyard, it's really amazing to wander in the woods. Lots of trees and animals you can watch out for!"

Hinata reminded herself that the Uchiha Mansion had lots of acres of land, containing woodsy forest and streams within it's own backyard, and possibly beyond that could've been a mystery to the child's fantasy. "Oh yes, I'd like to do that with you, Naruto-kun... It seems like a great idea after having a...teaparty with Sakura-chan," Hinata smiled as she gripped Naruto's arm a bit tighter, a very small hint of fear in the idea.

"It's okay, Hinata," Naruto stated as he looked down to her. "I'd protect you from scary squirrels and evil chipmunks, Dattebayo!" He saluted proudly with his free hand and stomped his foot onto the tiled floor before exiting the school building. "You would be safe with me around for sure!"

Hinata couldn't stop herself from laughing whole-heartedly, openingly hugging his arm infront of everyone whow as watching them at the moment to hold her ground from falling as Naruto laughed along with her. "A-a-ano! Naruto-kun, how come you like to be silly, ne?"

"Me? Silly? Why, I'm simply just being myself, Hinata!" Naruto defended. "Sakura-chan always said I act so much like my parents, Dattebayo!"

"Really?" Hinata's pale eyes met his in sudden interest. "What are your parents like?"

Naruto stopped walking on the sidewalk, suddenly having a blank expression on his face as he kept his eyes on her. Hinata couldn't understand what Naruto was doing as he slowly grew sad with his expression; not having tears, but he looked like he could have if he really wanted to.

"N-Naruto-kun?

"My parents...they passed away when I was a baby," Naruto said softly as he placed his free hand ontop of Hinatas', assuring her that he was alright. "They were killed when I was very small. I don't remember them very well, honestly."

Hinata's eyes widened. "Oh! I-I-I'm so sorry, N-Naruto-kun! I-"

Naruto gave her the sweetest smile. "It's okay, Hinata. You didn't know, so I wouldn't worry about it. I couldn't be mad at you anyway, you're too nice..." he let go of Hinata's hand and reached into his back pocket. "Sakura-chan gave me a small photo of them. She keeps their pictures hidden somewhere safe, so they don't get ruined, you know? But she gave me one on my birthday." He pulled out his brown wallet and slipped out a photo that was the size of your palm. "Here, take a look. This is my mother and father, Kushina and Minato!" He pointed to the certain figures in the sepia hued photo.

Hinata looked at the photo in awe; the woman in the photo was a beauty, with very long hair. Her eyes sparkled with love and adoration for the man next to her, her lovely hands sticking out of the dark kimono as she pressed them to the man's strong cheeks in a sweet manner as she pressed her face against his. The man next to her was like a handsome prince, looking a lot like their son as he smiled brightly just like him. He had a cherry blossom flower in one hand, arranging it into his wife's hair to brighten her face: long strands flowing through his fingers as he gave her such a look of love. Hinata could tell that the two was so deep in love in the single photo.

"Your mother is very beautiful, Naruto-kun," Hinata whispered softly. "And you look so much like your father, it's so cute!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Heehee, thanks! Sakura always tells me how I act like my father in my 'blond moments', but I have my mother's idea of having a good time, you know? We both like to cause a little trouble here and there!" He took the photo back gently from her fingers, being gentle not to touch her skin, as he placed the photo back into the wallet with such care. "This photo looks old, but it's been through a lot over the years. I do my best to take care of it, so I take it everywhere with me."

"I think...it's very sweet that you hold them close," Hinata nodded encouragingly, hesitant to tug his sleeve gently to offer him a smile. "You're a very good person, Naruto-kun, and I think your parents would be proud of you for that."

Naruto looked at Hinata, unsure of what to make of her comment. Wasn't it just hours ago when Sasuke told him he was an idiotic fool? Ah, but it was Sakura who told them both that Naruto isn't the only creature who lacks companionship, wishing to bring someone new to look into his lifestyle: to hold his hand when he feels upset about who he is, and what he does to keep himself able to be around humans without having them give him a second glance and maybe, just maybe, join him someday so he can live Happily Ever After...

Sakura once told him, when he was a little boy, that vampires can tell when they are meant to have a certain person to be their partner in the immortal life of a vampire. She told him that Sasuke felt it when he found her, and now that Naruto is a vampire himself, he could feel that same feeling someday in his immortal life.

Since Naruto has entered the town they are living at, he felt that he could feel this...special feeling of being _alive. _His immortal soul was telling him that he must roam in the night, skipping hours on needed sleep, searching for the source of the feeling that is causing his mind to reel for hours on end. He figured that it was a wild animal, having his hunting instincts battle with his head. But no, it wasn't a wild animal that was causing him to make his immortal heart beat faster and feel like he needs to protect something.

It was Hyuuga Hinata. She was the one Naruto wanted to keep safe in the actual reality of life...

Naruto remembered what happened on the first night he and his friends arrived to the town last month, slowly adapting to the new home Sasuke opened up on the Uchiha Estate. How his overwhelming feeling of finding something he lost was too much for him to handle and keep to himself.

_Naruto found Sakura opening the box that held the pounds of books to stack inside the library when he came into the room running. He literally rammed himself at his friend, tackling her to the ground and sent books flying, growls and hisses of a cat-like noise coming from the pink haired girl as she pinned the blond by grabbing his throat with him on bottom._

_"What in the hell do you think you're doing, Naruto?" Sakura screeched in anger at the sudden attack. She jumped off of him and rearranged her kimono, fixing her obi that became slanted unevenly. "I'm trying to unpack here and so should you! Is your bedroom done yet?"_

_Naruto stayed on the floor with his arms sprawled out from the wrestling match, his eyes glued to the ceiling. "Sakura-chan, I don't feel so good."_

_"What are you talking about? Vampires don't get sick, so you can't sneak out of working with that anymore!" She poked his rib with her bare foot, tickling him where he was usually weak. When she didn't get a giggle attack out of him, her face became soft and confused. "What is wrong, Naruto?"_

_Naruto finally looked over to meet the eyes he always loved to look at. "I have this weird feeling inside my chest. It hurts a lot and I can't stop thinking about it." He followed the green eyes as she knelt down to her knees, hugging her legs as she watched the boy look back to the ceiling with no interest at all. "I feel like there is something wrong, but I don't know what... I want to go outside and go run as fast as I can until I feel better, but...I don't think it would be enough, you know?" He began to kick his feet in the air in frustration, pulling his blond locks harshly. "I don't like it! It's driving me nuts, Dattebayo!"_

_Sakura let the boy she raised scramble for a few moments before smacking him with her fan on his head, making him whimper at the sudden attack and freeze on the spot. "Calm down, Naruto. It's nothing for you to worry about." She got up and went to pick up the books that was thrown on the floor with no special care._

_"But what is it, Sakura-chan? I don't like it!" Naruto whined desperately._

_Sakura set two books on the lowest shelf before returning to the box to grab more. "You're getting that feeling when your soulmate is nearby, honey. It's nothing not to like, but it is going to drive you crazy." She pulled out more books and whistled for Naruto to help, which he complied by crawling over and grabbing a bunch of books that humans couldn't carry. "This is something you might want to ask Sasuke-kun about, since he is a male vampire... But, coming from a girl, your vampire senses are telling you that your body is ready to find the girl of your dreams."_

_Naruto set the books down before beginning to stock, setting a disbelief look. "I doubt that, Sakura-chan!" he laughed jokingly. "Ne, it's like you're saying that I'm ready to get a wife! Ha! As if! You're the only girl I ever want." He looked over to see the pink haired girl giving him a serious expression, causing the blond vampire to freeze in his stance and gulp. "Y-you're serious..."_

_Sakura nodded with puckered lips. "Naruto, you know I love you very much. But I do not love you like that... Sasuke-kun is the only man who I wish to live forever with," Sakura spoke in the softest tone, like when Naruto would tell him bedtime stories when he was very little. "Sasuke-kun felt the same way when he came to my village all those years ago..."_

_"I know..." Naruto grumbled. "You two are meant to be together forever and blah, blah, bl- EECK! THAT HURTS!" Naruto was cut short by Sakura's fan jabbing him in the ear._

_"Naruto," Sakura whispered quietly, cupping his face very softly as she looked deep into his eyes, "when you find the one who is meant to be yours' for all eternity, you will understand how Sasuke-kun feels for me as I do for him." She let a smile stretched on her pale face, making Naruto's heartbeat speed up. "You're a very good man and I know that Sasuke and I have taught you well... Just please be careful in this world, Naruto. It's different and I wouldn't want to live another moment to see you hurt because of the pain the girl could be given down that road." She went onto her toes and lightly kissed Naruto's forehead, like she did when he was a good boy as a toddler and a baby, hugging him close to her warm body and wrapped her arms around his broad body. "I love you, Naruto. I want you to be happy like your parents wanted you to."_

_Naruto closed his eyes slowly, savoring the feeling of the woman who he had loved in his head for so many years, but never in his heart. He wrapped his strong arms around her tiny body, pulling her close enough to be suffocating her as he buried his face in her pink hair. A single tear ran down his tanned, whiskered cheek as he exposed the brightest smile that Sakura has seen for the first time in his life._

_"Sakura-chan...arigato," Naruto sniffed a bit before letting go of her for the last time. "I want to find her as soon as possible, Dattebayo!"_

_Sakura nodded with a simple gaze. "You will. But first, you gotta help me finish with the library since you tackled me to the ground!"_

_"Ehh! Sakura-chan, thats not- OWWIE! OKAY, I'LL HELP!"_

Naruto looked into Hinata's beautiful, pale eyes. He wondered what kind of color they were, exactly what was the name of the eye color this lovely girl possessed, he hoped to find out someday down the road of his journey. He knew he wanted Hinata by his side the whole way, and hopefully, be by his side like Sakura was to Sasuke; maybe someday get married to an eternal bond that no one else could ever break with him alive to protect this girl. He smiled brightly as he reached down and took hold of the girl's small hand, noting that her hand was small and very cool to his touch. Ice to his fire, you could say. He was really glad that the girl didn't pull away when they touched hands, and kept the smile on his cheeks as he went back to walking down the sidewalk with his next goal.

He plans to show Hinata who he really is on Saturday.

=xxx=

AUTHOR ENDING NOTE: Who here loves Mr. WubWub more then they love their own stuffed animal? -raises hand high- I got the idea from Mr. WubWub when I babysat a family friend's little kid and she brought out Rugrats (the movie when they went to France, remember? C:) And Chuckie had the teddy bear named WaWa; so thats where Mr. WubWub came from~! I love writing about little Naruto, it makes me wanna pinch his cheeks and feed him pudding! I'm getting over myself xD

I feel like I'm going a bit fast with these chapters, but you know what? Theres'a lot more stuff coming around the corner that would take time to explain in the whole story, as well as many characters being put into this fanfic that I just can't leave out! You know? So many lovable characters that play an important role in the fanfiction~. It's like _Romeo and Juliet; _it's basically a three day relationship that killed some of the best characters because of star-crossed lovers! (although I'm not killing anyone in this fanfiction...maybe).

Remember to review and do whatever you like! xD Favorite, Follow, or just leave this fanfic and never come back uwu I don't mind it, I just hope you have a good day!


	4. Chapter 4

BAM~ Kitty feels like a hyper fuzzball today, folks! I feel like I'm in a good mood, so I will be working ahead on the future chapters of Wilting Roses C: Just because I actually love this story like I love cupcakes. And, before I forget, my dear friend, kuri-kiki, is being very supportive on this fanfiction and I love her so much for being the sweet honeybun that she is ;A; If you have time during your day to roam around , please check out her account; she makes very lovely Yu-Gi-Oh and FullMetalAlchemist fanfictions that are very well written ;3 I am not a fan of YGO (please, nu bash) but she makes me wanna snuggle Johan and Judai like plushies! QwQ You gotta love this Kiki of mine, she is to die for! (Yes Kiki, I would go ninja on anyone who bothers my cuddly bunbun C: Don't deny my love!)

Anyway, anyone who hasn't read Yuna Kagesaki's _Chibi Vampire, _I highly recommend the manga and novels if you get your hands on them. They are wonderfully drawn by Kagesaki-sensei and she has made a wonderful story with a incredible plot twist in regards to the inside life of vampire's religious beliefs and putting in romance and humor at the wrong time, but you have to love it. The other vampire mangas that helped inspired me with this fanfiction by the smallest bit was _Hellsing, Dance in the Vampire Bunds _and, even though it isn't vampire, _Black Bird_ has also caught my attention into making this fanfiction that I hope will entertain you. ;D If you want to check out actual professional storytellers, check out those mangas and feel free to enjoy them in your spare time! I feel thankful that you've come this far into reading my fanfic, and I am deeply honored to have you all review, favorite, follow and whatever you do to contribute to this progressing fanfiction. If I could give you a sweet treat of cookies and cupcakes, along with a note telling how thankful I am to have you look upon this underrated fanfic.

Thank you for checking this fanfiction out, and please do review and whatever you wish C: Anything to make you happy makes Kitty a happy fuzzball! I hope you have a very good day~!

=xxx=

Wilting Roses

Chapter Four- Teaparties and Monsters

**1910s', Spring**

_Sakura walked quietly down the path of the flower trees, admiring the brightness of the sun that shone beautifully through the cherry blossom trees. She thought of distant memories that would bring her back to where she came from, softly beginning to hum a song she was taught to sing back in her day...a song of the beauties of spring and the natural rebirth of all living things, including the blossoming of love and future promises. She would hum this song to Sasuke, having him admire her singing voice as he traced his fingers on her bare skin of her back in the early morning. She would spend nights after feeding off of Sasuke in pure bliss in his embrace with his gentle touches as they rocked against each other..._

_Sakura slapped her cheek hard, making herself break out of last night's activity, even though it was purely wonderful. She sighed with a deep blush to her pale cheeks, enjoying the silence nature was giving her on this walk. It took only a second for Sakura's keen ears to hear an abnormal sound of sobbing and whimpers of a immature voice, possibly a young child. She curiously roamed through the bushes as she pushed a branch out of her eyesight, looking upon a small pond that was hidden from the rest of the world._

_And a small girl crying all by herself. Alone and ignored by anyone who would have passed by._

_Sakura couldn't help herself to tip toe over with her bare feet and gently read out to pet the beautiful red hair the little girl had, hushing in the softest tone she could do without startling the little one. "Shh, shh... it's okay, Sweetie. Why are you crying?"_

_The little girl spun her head in a fast motion, her red hair swishing gracefully to meet Sakura's gorgeous smile. "Uhn! Who are you? I didn't hear you!" She tried to scramble to her feet to make a run for it, but Sakura's gentle hand tugged her wrist for her to hold still. "Don't mind me! I'm not important!"_

_"A pretty girl like you shouldn't cry without a reason," Sakura said. She sat on her shins and guide the girl to sit back down next to her. "My name is Sakura, my dear. What is your name?"_

_The girl blushed to the deepest shade of red, redder then her own hair. "K-K...Kushina, ma'am. My name is Kushina!"_

_"Kushina-chan, you may call me Sakura if you would like," Sakura reached into her obi and pulled out a clothed tissue with an uchiwa fan painted on it, dabbing the girl's violet eyes with the cloth as she used her other hand to push loose strands out of her eyes. "Mind if you tell me what is causing you to cry alone?"_

_Kushina's round-shaped head looked down to her open palms. She bit her lip lightly before speaking in a shy tone. "At school...there were kids making fun of me," she whispered as she brushed her fingers through her super long hair with no interest. "They make fun of my red hair and my head, saying I look like a tomato! I look like a freak of nature, Dattebane!" Fresh tears fell from her bug eyes, having Sakura wipe them away gently. "I don't know what is wrong with my red hair, but I hate it!"_

_The little girl went to an attack of sobs, her shoulders bouncing with every hiccup that escaped her lips. Sakura let her arm wrap around her small shoulders and pulled her into a warm hug, humming softly to let the little one cry to her heart's content. It took a few minutes for the redhead cutie's sobs to lighten as Sakura pulled back to look at her tear stained cheeks._

_"Kushina-chan, do you see my hair?" Sakura asked as she tugged her own hair that was wavy against her cheeks. "It is pink, and I possess a baby-like face that could remind people of a cherry. People have always wondered if I was born within the roots of the sakura trees, or just a freak of nature as well...but the fact that I was so different from other people is what makes me so unique. I am a one-of-a-kind, Kushina-chan. I doubt you've seen anyone else with pink hair?"_

_Kushina shook her head child-like. "No, I have not, Sakura-neechan..."_

_Sakura nodded. "I was very different, so people could not understand me so well. I felt alone and teased because no one liked how I looked...but then I began to do something I love to do."_

_"What is that?"_

_"I loved to dance and sing, I also love to tell stories and entertain people of all ages," Sakura smiled as she poked Kushina's button nose. "Once I began to show people what I could do, they began to like me and start to accept me. You see, Kushina-chan, people need to get to know you by the appearance of your talents, not by your 'weak flaws'."_

_Kushina's violet eyes began to sparkle with the words of wisdom the pink haired beauty was telling her. Letting herself up from her lap and pumped a fist into the air, speaking in a new tone of courage. "Hai! I will show those cowards that I am not to be messed with just because I look like a tomato! I shall show my talent of fan dancing and tea ceremonies, like a professional!" She bounced around in her yukata with excitement._

_"And Kushina-chan," Sakura intrupted the dancing child, "in my opinion, you have very lovely hair and I adore your face."_

_The said girl blushed a thousand shades of red, squirming in her stance as she giggled at the nice comment. "Uhm...thank you, Sakura-neechan," Kushina cooed by poking her own cheek. "I think you're very pretty, too!"_

_"Ne, would you like to spend some time with me? I believe we will be great friends, my dear little girl," Sakura asked as she passed the cloth to the girl and held her hand to grasp onto it for a keepsake. "Will you like that?"_

_"Yes!" Kushina squealed as she clung to the fabric to her heart, bouncing with excitement. "I will be here after my schooling everyday to meet up with you! I will tell you more about myself and you shall for me?"_

_"I would love that, Kushina-chan."_

=xxx=

Naruto walked alongside Sasuke in the darkest neighborhood in town; scanning with his blue eyes of any pets from the homes that could possibly be outside to bark or hiss at the passing vampires. Even though no humans inside their homes would be woken up by the two simply walking around to observe the area, animals could easily give away that there was something abnormal in their enviroment. The blond boy liked animals a lot, always begged Sasuke to get him a puppy as a child, even dogs like Naruto. It was only at night when the animals will turn on their nasty side and try to warn their owners that there are two intruders inside their homes just waiting to feast on needed blood.

"So," Sasuke's cool voice reaches Naruto's keen ears, "Sakura has told me that you've had that _feeling_ sneaking up on you, no?"

Naruto turned his head to look at his long-time friend, nodding silently as he faced forward to continue his job to check the perimeter. He had not spoke since he returned home from walking with Hinata; going up to his third floor bedroom and shut himself in until Sasuke rapped on the door for him to come along with the night's hunting. He didn't even yell at Sasuke to leave him alone so he could be in silence, but rolled out of the bed when Sakura's voice came through the door, asking him politely to join Sasuke tonight. After what happened hours prior, Naruto wondered if Sasuke had any steam to let out.

"You're not talking, Dobe," the black haired man tried again. "That is not natural of you."

Naruto stopped walking, shoving his hands in his orange sweatshirt as he looked up to the night sky. He waited until Sasuke stopped a few paces ahead of him to look back to speak for once. "I found her, Sasuke... She goes to our school."

Sasuke's perfect mouth twitched a bit at the statement Naruto was claiming on the spot. Had he not learned anything about his temper? "Is that so..." he ran a hand through his hair, eyeing the squirrel that scampered across the empty street. "Isn't that interesting."

"Sasuke," Naruto looked at him with a serious look. "Sasuke, I don't get it at all. It's just a feeling...but for a human? Is that even normal nowdays with recent society?" He began to remember the graphic story of the tale on when humans turned against their fellow vampires, how Sakura would grip to the young boy's shoulder as she told this particular story with her eyes reading sadness. "Haven't vampires changed their point of view to look into taking non-pureblood vampires as their companions?"

"They have," Sasuke answered. "But it does not stop the pain if the feeling is for a human." His eyes looked over his distress friend, doing whatever it took not to smirk or laugh at his misery. "That feeling would last until the human's dying breath. It may sound foolish to the younger generation, like you, but humans and vampires used to co-exist peacefully."

Naruto nodded. "I know... But what am I going to do about the feeling when I pass by her again? I feel like I want to tell her _everything, _Dattebayo! I wanna protect her and make her mine someday."

"Who is she?"

That, my dear reader, left the blond to go back into his silent mood; failing to answer him and swung his arms in the air and run in circles in distress and anger. He knew he wasn't allowed to make any loud noises, so screaming would prove useless and another beating from the Uchiha; leaving the only way to express his problem to the _very _uninterested vampire, was to roll around like a hot-tempered child who was refused a toy to purchase.

As expected, Sasuke rolled his eyes at the whining blond, who was now rolling on the pavement and whimpering like a lost puppy. He turned his heels and began walking away from his only friend. "Of course, I could always ask Sakura who she is, since she knows everything with your big mouth rambling juicy gossip with her..."

"NEEE!" Naruto screamed, only to recieve a expensive shoe to plant right onto his mouth, digging it's toe down his throat. He made noises, but he wasn't choking.

"You little twit," Sasuke hissed very quietly. "What are you trying to do? Wake the whole neighborhood so they can see us? Learn your place, you spoiling guppy!" He pulled his foot out of his puffing cheeks and went back to walking. "Fuck, I already know that it's Hyuuga, so don't flip out."

"Then why did you tease me like that, huh?" Naruto demanded as he scrambled to his feet. "Yeah, you're baiting me to fuck up so you can beat me! You're such an asshole, Teme. I'm telling Sakura-chan what you're doing and she'll stop having sex with you for _days! _Ha! That is my plan, Teme!"

"I can always have my way with her, Dobe," Sasuke said flatly as he glared over his shoulder. "But don't you ever, _ever _try to use Sakura against me. You'll only get yourself killed." He allowed the blond to hop closer to his side as he kept walking down the deserted street.

"Ne, Sasuke...where you like this before Sakura joined you? So protective?"

"Hn," the icy man finally let a smirk expose on his lips. He looked to his friend and gave him the rare look that Naruto never sees without Sakura being in the room; if Sasuke was a different man, he would've even blushed. "You will know how it feels soon enough, kid."

Sasuke's expression showed Naruto his happiness.

=xxx=

Sakura snuggled her futon pillow as she curled into a ball on the bed. Sighing softly as she sensed her boys arriving into the compound ground, bickering silently to human ears about who performed the best meal attacks of the night; letting a smile grace her face as she checked the time to say four-thirty in the morning, the perfect curfew for vampires to begin to return home. She rolled to her back as she heard Naruto's swift feet enter his bedroom on the other side of the mansion, mattress padding crushing together as he settled himself in, throwing himself around a few times before he felt comfortable.

'Noisy little boy,' Sakura giggled in her thoughts, sitting up as Sasuke opened the bedroom door and entered silently. "How did it go, Sasuke-kun? Did you two talk?"

"Hn." Sasuke crossed his arms and pulled his black shirt off, exposing his toned abs and biceps. He fell to his knees after tossing the shirt somewhere else and crawled his way over to her, inching his face closer to hers and grabbed her waist firmly and rolled her ontop of him.

"I'm guessing it went well?" Sakura pushed on with her fingers pressing against his heartbeat. She raised her head to look onto his lovely face, which was blank and had his eyes closed. "Sasuke-kun!" She smacked his chest rather hard, making him grunt in surprise.

"Yes yes," Sasuke groaned as he rubbed his face. "Jeez, can't a guy rest for a minute? I'm eating for two, you know." Even though it was literal, Sakura couldn't hold in her giggles as she pecked his cheek adoringly.

"Good! I was worried you two would go at each others throats about the subject," Sakura purred against him, nipping his nose. She flipped her leg over so that she was sitting on his lower body and her hands wandered on his pale skin. "Do you approve of Naruto's feelings for Hinata-chan?"

Sasuke took a moment to rub his eye with one hand: the other was trailing up Sakura's thigh, slowly slipping under her kimono. "I really don't care who it is, as long as she keeps her mouth shut... The rest is on Naruto's head if he can't be responsible."

"I'm sure Naruto will do just fine," Sakura leaned down to press her forehead against his. "He was taught by the Great Uchiha on how to be a proper vampire, after all." She kissed his cheek softly as she trailed them down to his Adam's apple. "Not to mention he is Minato's child."

"Hn," Sasuke's voice vibrated in his throat against her mouth. He slowly turned his head to the side and used a hand to brush through her soft pink hair as the other went higher into the kimono; pressing his lower body up against hers', letting a rough purr rumble in his chest. "Go on, baby."

Sakura took no time to puncture his skin with her canines, sucking the gathered blood for her meal of the night; rewarding the man beneath her by pressing her body closer to his, feeding his inner emotions pour out with every minute it took for her to feed her half of the plate. Soft groans escaped Sasuke's lips as she finished, kissing the bite marks away gently before tackling her so he could be ontop. He began giving simple loving love bites on her neck, inching lower and lower as he came in contact with her kimono.

"You sure you're not tired, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura smirked teasingly at the Uchiha's sudden actions.

"Rest later." With that, Sasuke continued with his kisses as he ripped her kimono wide open.

=xxx=

Hinata looked up to the iron gates with wide eyes, gulping thickly as she saw the sculptures of gargoyles and other monsterous creatures that crawled out of the brick wall next to the iron gates that guarded the Uchiha Estate. She didn't know how to properly tell if she should just open the gate, or press some kind of button; possibly a bird to carry on a message for her? Silly, girl. She brushed her bangs away from her eyes and inhaled a large gulp of oxygen.

"Hello! Anyone home?" she called out as loud as she could, feeling absolutely foolish if someone was to see her screaming into the supposively haunted grounds. She wondered if they live next door instead of this address...but there was no actual written address on the paper! Only a detailed drawing in pen that held detailed instructions on how to get here with a 'X' at the end. "Sakura-chan, I'm here!"

Hinata waited for a very long minute, tapping her foot gently to pass the time before sighing sadly; she concluded that she got the wrong house and should best go home. She told the maids she would be home later tonight, so they didn't need to make lunch for her and can enjoy a break. She folded the instructions carefully and slipped it back into her purple purse that was decorated with stitching of a butterfly and blue stars to frame it. She turned her body around and began to walk away with only one step taken-

"Ne, Hinata-chan! You're right ontime!" a cheerful voice came from behind her, making her spin around with a hand on her chest to see Sakura standing on the other side of the gate. "I'm sorry if I made you wait for a long while, I was looking for my other sandal Naruto was hiding from me." She winked cutely as she pushed the gate open with both hands.

Hinata noticed that Sakura was wearing a traditional kimono, the ones she would see at traditional Japanese weddings of her father's closest friends and rarely at festivals that were held here in town. It was maroon-ish red with white designs of cherry blossom petals dancing across her fabric, having a black obi with red stitching support it all together and matching black sandals. Hinata was amazed how professional Sakura looked on a Saturday, as if she was an honor guest back in time, making her cheeks blush deep red.

"Oh, I feel so under-dressed, Sakura," Hinata whined nervously while fidgeting with her index fingers. "You look very pretty..."

Sakura was confused. "What do you mean, dear?"

"You're d-dressed like a real ki-...kimono girl! I'm wearing nothing of the s-sort except a t-shirt and a skirt! I feel so silly," Hinata mumbled.

"Oh, this?" Sakura tugged at her own sleeve, giggling lightly as she pinched her clothes. "I wear this on a daily basis, Hinata-chan. It's what I wear after school out of my school uniform, cha! You don't have to feel underdressed; I dress like this all the time!" She took hold of Hinata's hand and began to pull her passed the gate, letting her look around the gargoyles before entering the Lion's Den.

All Hinata would see when she passed the gate was nothing but trees and green plants all over the place. She felt like she was inside a forest in the middle of nowhere. Hinata jumped when Sakura closed the gate, causing a creeky slam when she locked it up with a giant, rusty key. It probably looked old enough to be in a museum, or something. She watched as Sakura tucked it into her obi and began walking casually, yet gracefully, down the dirt path that was set in between the valley of trees; humming a tune that Hinata wasn't to familiar with.

"S-so..." Hinata fumbled with her fingers again, watching how Sakura walked in a beautiful way. "Is...Naruto-kun here?"

Sakura's nose raised slightly at the name, slowly turning her head to show her bright eyes and a perky smile. "Oh yes. He hasn't gone anywhere since last night; he's hanging out with Sasuke-kun in the woods behind the mansion." She beckoned Hinata to come closer. "Don't worry, sweetie. I'm not going to bite you!"

Hinata was right next to her, still looking all around. "Do you ever get lost in here? It seems...b-big, you know?" She grasped Sakura's soft hand and suddenly felt a gust of wind. Hair covered her eyes before she could ask once more. "D-doesn't it?"

"No, not really," Sakura chirped as they both entered the compound: aisles of small homes and little shacks remain to look good as new after many years, shocking Hinata as she looked at the decorations of pots with colorful flowers to brighten the empty streets. "I've been decorating here and there, so I tend to memorize the area pretty quickly. Sasuke knows more of the property and Naruto seems to be getting used to it; I don't wander out of the neighborhood, you could say."

"Oh, why not?" Hinata asked with confidence. It was easier to ask Sakura questions without the Uchiha with the creepy stare.

Sakura had a long pause before answering in a somewhat sad voice. "I don't like being alone on the property's forest. It makes me feel upset." She suddenly tucked her hands into her sleeves, looking straight ahead as Hinata uncovered her eyes and scurried after to follow the pink haired girl. "I really didn't live an easy life."

"I-I..." Hinata's voice cracked, "uhm... I'm s-sorry about that, Sakura-chan. I d-didn't-"

"It happened a long time ago, dear," Sakura doned a bright smile to her. "It is nothing for you to apologize for. Truthfully, I am pretty thankful that you're kind enough to ask about myself."

Hinata's lips twitched up to a shy smile. "Uhm... okay, Sakura-chan."

"Here." Sakura stuck out her right hand and held it out infront of her friend. Her eyes softened to the degree of creating hearts to flutter with wings, as what Hinata did quickly. "Take my hand, Hinata-chan..."

Hinata took hold of Sakura's soft hand, gently grasping it and was pushed by a harsh gust of wind once more: hair flipping to block her eyesight as she nearly tumbled over if it wasn't for Sakura's arm suddenly snaking over her shoulder. She gasped as she inhaled the earthy oxygen, pressing her whole body against her friend in fear of a storm that would take place.

"You okay, Hinata?"

She opened her eyes to find a door infront of her: the color of coal with doorknockers in the shape of roaring lions, giant fangs holding the knobs. The actual doorknobs were silver veins that probably required all your strength to open it, designings of silver leaves and roots that embedded onto the door itself. The door's frame was a gold color of wood and it was brick that surrounded the rest; a mansion with beautiful windows to held the door up properly. She remembered before of looking at the wonderful little houses and now...there was this big damn mansion right infront of her!

"Uhm..."

"Welcome home!" Sakura's angelic voice perked her ears as she pushed both doors open with both small hands." Hinata was instantly pulled into the mansion by her pink haired friend, suddenly in a whole new world that she never knew existed.

=xxx=

Naruto carefully balanced himself on a thin branch of a tall oak tree, watching as birds flew just above his head as he pulled a strip of cloth from the leaves. He smiled like a kid at Christmas when he was able to hold the whole strip in his grasp and add it to the collection of other stripped cloths into his baggy pocket.

"Your training is proving pointless, Sasuke!" Naruto yelled freely from the top of the tree. "I only have three more to go, Dattebayo! Haaa!" He leapt off the branch, falling in a neutral expression before landing on his heels without worry. He shook his hips to echo the sound of clothes colliding in his pants, looking like a shirtless fool.

"There are actually no more strips for you to search for, Naruto. Your next test is to get cloths from an enemy," a cool voice echoed within the forest, making Naruto stop with his silly dance. "And I don't have them."

"Then who the fu-..." the blond slowly swallowed when he actually thought what the mean Uchiha said. His face bursting red with frustration as he stomped his bare foot on the thorny grass. "_You asshole! I'm not attacking Sakura-chan to pass your fucking test!"_ Birds literally flew from the trees and little creatures scurried into their dens, running away from the predator that was miles upon miles from them, but it didn't matter.

"Hn, if you say so..." the dark figure was laying against a low branch of a tree behind Naruto. "If you want to fail to protect Hyuuga when the time comes, be my guest."

"No! I'm not giving up!" Naruto growled animalistic, pointing at his best friend. "I know that Hinata is here today for Sakura-chan's tea party, and I'm not going to ruin it just to get cloths!"

"Then how would you like to tell Hyuuga of what you truly are?" Sasuke asked with a raised bow.

"How did you do it?"

"Back when I found Sakura..." the Uchiha smirked mockingly, "is something I will tell my children's children, not for an idiot to find out and tell all his buddies."

"Ass," Naruto snarled. "Like you'll ever be able to have-"

The Uchiha's eyes bled red with his signature commas swirling, just tempting the blond to go on. Naruto saw his glare and snorted, walking on twigs and thorn. "I'll get your fucking cloths, you emo douchebag..." his mutters made the dark man relax and rest his head back. "I'll tell Sakura-chan how abusive you are..."

"You just wait, kid," Sasuke said calmly with Naruto already far away. "I may come off as a hard teacher...but, if I ask Sakura to help me teach you how to protect..." Naruto listened to the last words, cementing them into his brain as he plotted what was coming to him, as well as the human girl who was now inside the Uchiha Mansion, "she will do _whatever _it takes to make you win in the real world."

_"Sakura," Sasuke whispered against her bare back, tracing his large hands on her spine, "I need you to help Naruto learn how to win in a fight."_

_His girl raised her pretty head off of the futon pillow, her sparkling jades glancing at him with a confused expression. Her doll-like lips parted as she asked below a whisper, "Why, Sasuke-kun?"_

_Sasuke crawled up to place his head facing hers', wrapping his arms around her skinny waist. "If he wants to protect Hyuuga, he needs to learn how to spring into action when they both least expect it." His thumb traced her lower lip gently. "If Naruto wants to know how to become a protective soulmate, whether she's still human or not, he must fight against in the least common situations."_

_Sakura stared at Sasuke when she placed her hands on his warm, bare chest. "But, Sasuke-kun... Hinata-chan is my friend. I don't want to scare her," she whimpered lightly as she closed her eyes sadly. "As much as I'd like to help Naruto... Why not when Hinata-chan finds out? So then I wouldn't become so scary!"_

_"Because Hinata wasn't born to know the existence of vampires. No one is anymore, my darling," Sasuke said as he cupped her face, which was now on the verge of tears. "You don't want Hyuuga to struggle like you did, do you?"_

_Sakura exhaled at his warm touch, snuggling her way closer to his body and rest her head in the crook of his neck. "No, I don't wish for that to happen..." A single tear fell down the edge of her eye, dripping onto her pillow. "I don't wish to become violent either..."_

_"It will be alright. It's part of his test," Sasuke soothed her gently. He showed the unknown emotions that others would not see from this particular man; his touches more gentle and loving as he spoke with a soothing tone that many would think was like a plague to him. He hugged her little pale body close to him, kissing the top of her head repeatedly with gentleness. "Hyuuga will forgive her friend as well Naruto will forgive his elder sister."_

_Sakura's bare body formed to be comforted by her husband. She nipped his shoulder before kissing his neck slowly, sending Sasuke into his lusty frenzy within his thoughts. But, for the sake of their conversation, he kept the contact to gentle touches and kisses._

_"You will do it in the morning," Sasuke announced. "When you first sense Naruto's presence a mile away from the mansion, you will begin to let loose..." He pulled her face to look into his dark, yet so comforting eyes. "Everything will be just fine, Sakura..."_

_"Yes, Sasuke-kun." The sad woman closed her eyes as she felt his lips press against her own. She nestled herself against his beautiful body, savoring the time they had until she had to force herself to starve for tomorrow's test for her little boy._

_"Sakura," Sasuke whispered in such a loving tone, "I love you so much."_

_"Mn..." Sakura whimpered as she tangled her limbs with his. "I love you, Sasuke-kun."_

As Sakura poured Hinata's cup in the dining hall (traditional Japanese themed with pillowed cushions for seats, arranged around a very long table) she remembered how Sasuke reasurred her before departing with Naruto into the woods on how he will be watching her incase things became too violent. She always held him to his word, since he never broke any promises since they have met; she felt somewhat better about what was going to happen in the matter of minutes.

"Ohh, they all look so yummy," Hinata cooed shyly as she gazed onto the many caked that decorated the table, sitting on special dishes that Sakura dug out of the ground, seriously out of the ground, and washed them perfectly to serve as cake plates. She made many little cakes, treats, petite fours, crepes and many other little baked goods; all decorated with delicate designs of frosting and silverware that was by two plates for the two ladies. Hinata was really getting a kick out of Sakura's secret talent of decorating cakes. "And you did this all in the morning?"

"I am the master of multitasking," Sakura winked, causing her to blush madly to hold her cheeks as she saw the elegant teapot pouring the yummy smelling tea into the tiny cup. "It's not too hard. I could teach you sometime, if you wish to have me as a teacher."

"I'd love that!" Hinata chirped.

"Mm," Sakura hummed as she lifted the cup into her hands. Her senses told her that Naruto was now nearly a mile away from the Mansion, Sasuke was already here; her ears heard his soothing whispers to begin. She held the cup out professionally to Hinata. "Here you go, Hinata-chan..."

"A-arigato!" Hinata smiled her sweet smile as she reached for the cup. The sound of her heartbeat fluttering was already making Sakura swallow with struggle, not that she showed it, as their fingers touched to exchange the cup.

Sakura's nail pricked Hinata's middle finger, causing a single drop of blood, the size of a pin's tip to ooze out of the little cut. Hinata, the sensitive human that she was, felt the tension of the poke, and dropped the teacup to the carpet, spilling to stain the red rug.

"Sakura-chan! I'm so sorry!" Hinata sputtered thickly, thinking it was all her own fault. Looking at the pale hand that stayed put of her dear friend; still as stone as her head was bowed in a sickly manner. Her expression changed to worry. "S-S...Sakura-ch-chan? Are you alri-"

She was unable to finish as she gasped in shock as Sakura's head tilted up to reveal her once jade eyes to be black beads. Her pale features seem to be more sickly to Hinata's opinion. Her outstretched slowly shift the digits into a claw-like motion as she opened her mouth.

"Hinata-chan..." a ghost-like voice came from the lips, exposing canine fangs that were sharp to the point. "Hinata-chan... I'm sorry for what I am about to do, sweetie..."

With that, Sakura's claw grasped Hinata's t-shirt and launched their bodies out of the room; sending Hinata's eyesight to spin as her indoor scenery changed to the outdoor world of green grass and trees. When she finally sought out the colors of flowers in patches of gardens, she suddenly realized that Sakura's grip was tight on her waist, nearly causing pain on her muscles.

"S-SAKURA!" Hinata screamed loudly at the top of her lungs, trying to let it echo across the estate to any passing people to hear her scream. Tears began to swell in her pale eyes as she tried to pull away from this...this _monster._

"I'm not going to hurt you, Hinata-chan," Sakura's angelic voice stunned her struggle. "I need you to hold still for me..." She spun around and placed her softly on the ground, her face expression looked as if she was in pain when Hinata got a good look of her scary features. Her pale hand touched her cheek, freezing Hinata on the spot as Sakura tried so hard to smile. "Everything will be answered in the-"

A large gust of wind once again pushed Hinata to the side, watching Sakura's body fly into the air with another anatomy pushing her away by force. She reconized quickly, because of the blond hair, that it was Naruto digging his fist into Sakura's stomach. She felt her whole body go numb as she watched Sakura return the sudden attack by guiding her leg over her head and aim onto Naruto's skull; sending him to drop into the earth and create a large boom with dirt flying everywhere.

"N-N...N-!" Hinata closed her eyes tight as she cried out in fear. Her sobs reached the body that was covered by a foot of dirt, his eyes opening quickly as a tiny hand darted under and grabbed his ankle.

"I'm sorry, Naruto," Sakura's soft voice passed by him as she flung him across the garden, landing on the trunk of a recently chopped down oak tree. Her sweet voice suddenly changed to a icy and eerie screech, "Don't fail me now!"

Hinata's eyes darted to Naruto, who quickly jumped off the trunk as if nothing happened. His muscled chest ripped in anger as a vein popped in his temple. His teeth was bared to show sharp canines that was the size of her pinky finger; easily spotted from the distance between them as Sakura's body swifty made it's way behind her, picking her up with surprisingly gentle care as she scooped her into her arms. She gazed into the beady eyes of her captive as they stared at Naruto in a way that said she was tempting him to come at her.

"Sakura-chan..." Naruto's growl sent a shiver down Hinata's spine, sending a sob from her lips, "let Hinata go right now. I don't want to do this!"

Sakura's eerie voice felt like ice. "Do it."

"N-no! I don't want to hurt-" He took a step as Sakura dropped her head to Hinata's lovely neck. He halted instantly at her sudden move and met Hinata's eyes for the first time. "Hinata..!"

"If you won't do what must be done," Sakura whispered against Hinata's skin, "then you fail to protect her." With that statement said, Hinata caught a glimpse of Sakura's mouth opening as wide as she could against her neck.

Hinata's cry was as loud as the human eardrum could take it as she felt Sakura's cold tongue lick her warm skin of her neck. "PLEASE! OH GOD, PLEASE DON'T!"

=xxx=

Cliffhangers are what I'm best at... Surprise! 8D I'm sorry if you don't like it, but yeah xD I was listening to Dubstep so that is what inspired me to do this (for only once? Possibly). You know when the bass drops and WUB WUB WUB?

...

I am so sorry xD


	5. Chapter 5

BAM! HERE TO CLEAR ALL THE HATES YOU FEEL FOR MY CLIFFHANGER, IT SHALL BE ENDED AT THIS VERY MOMENT ONCE I AM FINISHED TALKING TO YOU! ;D

Oki doki, I want to first say that I am very happy how many people seem to enjoy this story a lot...and that makes me so freakin' happy how you like it! ;w; I'm so glad that you enjoy this story, even though it may seem underrated and poorly made, but I am so happy that many people are taking the time to read it. I wish I can thank everyone who favorite, follows and reviews ;3; They seriously make my day like bubbles. I really do love bubbles C; they're fun to pop! You guys make me imaginary bubbles, and that is a very good thing!

REPLIES TO REVIEWS OF THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER-

Rose Tiger- -trollface- ewe~!

CuteyJayAnimeLover1- I dunno whats gonna happen ;A; Do you know if Naruto will be the hero we all know and love?-Wait...Of course he will! He's Uzumaki Naruto, Dattebayo! ;D

jojo07- YESSSSSSS TO YOUR NOOOOOO! xD Thank you for your very polite comment! It makes Kitty fuzzbally of the cliffhanger affect!

Naruhinalover- He does? owo I understand for beating up Sasuke -who doesn't want to beat that nutcase up? xD- but I am glad you enjoy the story!

Special thanks to Hue and Kiki, they are simply amazing and I adore them so much! Please check them out when you have time during your day; their stories are simply amazing and they make my day. Maybe they'll make your day, too! :D

Holy crap, I'm wasting time when you should see what happened. IGNORE ME AND READ THE CHAPTER, FELLOW READER! I HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD DAY! Remember... to do that stuff to make Kitty a happy fuzzball x3

=xxx=

**1920s', Winter**

_Sakura woke up with a jolt, hiccuping a sob as she sat up fast. She covered her mouth with both of her hands as she cried silently weakly, her shoulders shaking fiercely as she stared at the paper wall in the dark room. Once she finally calmed down, she raked her fingers into her short hair. Sniffing lightly, she pulled her blanket up to her chin and buried her face into the very soft fabric._

_"Sakura..." a masculine voice whispered softly as a hand touched her cheek. She peeked from the blanket to see Sasuke's calm expression looking up to her, hair lightly messed from sleeping moments before. "What is wrong, Sakura?"_

_Sakura allowed him to wrap his arm around her shoulders and pull her back down gently, pressing her upper body against his warm chest. She buried her face in the crook of his neck. "I had a bad dream again."_

_Sasuke instantly began humming a song to soothe his wife's nerves, kissing her head softly. "It's okay...it is not real anymore."_

_"Did I wake the baby?" Sakura asked as she looked up to see his gaze. She followed his eyes to the side of their futon, where a woved basket sat quietly as it held the bundle within it. She could hear the baby's soft and even breathing as Naruto continued to dream of wonderful colors. "He is a heavy sleeper, isn't he?"_

_"Hn," Sasuke agreed. He pulled the blanket over their bodies and nestled against his wife's little body. He wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes. "The sun doesn't settle down for another few hours...get some more sleep."_

_"Hai Sasuke-kun," Sakura mumbled as she curled snuggly against him. _

_Sakura's nightmares always felt real; the pain and the feeling of dying always replaying in her dreams. If only she could tell the baby boy years later that she would sacrifice anything to help him protect his loved one someday..._

Wilting Roses

Chapter Five- Truth Hurts

Sakura closed her eyes with a soft smile on her face, feeling the blade of the knife digging into her neck as Naruto continued to push the utensil deeper into her skin. She felt Hinata get yanked out of her arm, sensing the two moving away at an inhuman speed into the expanding forest.

'Good boy, Naruto...' Sakura's thoughts said in a cheerful tone. 'I am so proud of you.' She dropped to her knees and coughed up a mouthful of black liquid: the thick element dripped off her lips to her chin, her vampire blood feeling so chilly against her skin.

It was now that she flipped her hand out of her kimono sleeve, reaching to her neck and pulled the knife out of her flesh, hearing the sound of the metal removing from her torn skin. There was no pain whatsoever in what Naruto has done to the pink haired vampire, but she could feel it. She didn't like it when things pierced her hard skin, but she was so happy that her blond friend took the extra mile to physically attack her to save Hinata from her razor-sharp teeth.

Not like Sakura was going to bite Hinata anyhow.

"Sakura..." the voice of Sasuke whispered by her side. She opened her eyes to see him looking down to her with so much love in his eyes, his expression was blank of course, but his eyes always read more then his looks. "Are you alright?"

She tossed the knife down, sitting to her shins as she let him kneel to her height and examine the wound that was now healing in a rapid pace. "Yes...Sasuke-kun, he did a very nice job." She looked into his eyes with a sparkle. "I'm very proud of him!"

Sasuke let a small smirk grace his lips when there was no trace of anything on her flower neck. "Hn, so am I, my dear..." He kissed her head softly as she wrapped her arms around him, begging him to pick her up like a little kid. "Did you make a mess at all inside?"

She giggled when Sasuke lifted her whole body into his hold. "I spilled tea, but it will be alright. I can clean it up!" She snuggled against him as he carried her into the Mansion, hearing the echo of Naruto's feet landing at every step of the forest's floor.

'Be a good boy, Naruto,' Sakura thought joyfully.

=xxx=

Naruto was running like he has never ran in his life. Well, he has ran like he never had, once when he was human and Sasuke claimed that he was out of shape and so the black haired man chased the teenaged boy around an old village until his muscles formed properly. Or that one time when Sakura found him stashing naughty magazines when he was thirteen and chased him to the mountains in the middle of winter (without any winter clothing, as he remembered). But now, with something in his arms as a vampire, he was running as if _her _life depended on it.

He knew that Sakura was never going to bite Hinata; he knew that Sakura wasn't capable of biting anyone besides Sasuke. But the sight of any kind of creature, even the woman he thought he loved for years, was touching her fangs to her fragile skin made him go into a murderous frenzy: making him flip out his swiss-army knife and stab the innocent vampiress, take Hinata into his arms and run into the forest that would go on forever to the human's perspective. He wanted to apologize to Sakura, really. But, once he sensed Sasuke take her into the Mansion, he didn't bother going back...he literally felt like killing the Uchiha for putting Sakura through the mess of threatening Naruto and using Hinata as bait.

Once he felt like he was done running off his anger, he slowed his pace down to a human speed of running (which really felt like walking to the young blond), he gazed down to see Hinata's eyes big and wide, looking straight at him for probably the whole damn time! He finally halt and settled Hinata's light body on a low tree branch of a oak tree, probably miles upon miles from the Mansion at this point. It took Hinata a minute to jerk her shoulders upward when he stepped back.

Naruto's lips pierced to the side. He didn't like this silence that was going on. "Uhm... Hinata," Naruto mumbled while rubbing the back of his head. He noticed her body tensing at the sound of his warm voice. "Hinata, I can explain-"

His tanned face was smacked with a purple sneaker, right on his whiskered cheek and startled him to paw at the shoe like a feline. "DON'T HURT ME!" Hinata's voice was the highest pitch that Naruto has ever heard since they met two days prior, looking at her scramble behind the tree branch he set her on and holding a sharp twig infront of her for defense. "DON'T BITE ME! I DON'T TASTE GOOD! MY BLOOD TASTE LIKE FRENCH FRIES!"

Naruto's face was blank with confusion in his blue eyes, watching as the blue haired beauty swing the stick and telling him to back away from her. If the situation was for a game he would have been playing with Hinata, he would laugh his childish laugh and tickle her... Oh, how Sakura would jab his ear with her fan for that idea. After a few moments of watching Hinata scream at him: he knelt down and picked up her pretty shoe, and began taking slow steps towards the panicked girl.

"NO, NO! I SAID STAY AWAY! DON'T MAKE ME HURT YOU!" Hinata cried while trembling at her legs. "THIS STICK IS SHARP, YOU KNOW!"

Naruto stopped a foot away from her, the twig she was holding poking his bare chest as he graciously held out the purple shoe to the frightened girl. "Hinata, please listen to me..."

Hinata pushed harder on the stick to his chest, not bothering the boy at all.

"I will not hurt you, Hinata..."

She whimpered as he set the shoe on the branch.

"I could _never _hurt you, Hinata..."

Hinata looked up to his blue eyes, startled to see the certain emotions that his pretty eyes said to her.

"I only want to protect the person who I am destined for."

Protection... Comfort... Safety...

"You can trust me."

Love.

_"Hinata, come here..." a sweet female voice echoed in the hallway as the little girl wandered with awe, admiring all the painting the hallways held in the lonely-looking wing. "Come here, darling."_

_Hinata entered the room at the end of the hallway, entering with a little wobble to her stance as she made her way to her mother who sat on the ground infront of a large canvas that was blank. Hinata's small hand reached out to touch her mother's long blue hair, admiring how soft it felt on her fingers; she too, in her own hopes, that her dream of having long hair like her will happen just like this._

_"Hinata..." her mother turned to face her, stroking her pink cheek with a sweet smile. "Darling, what should I paint for your room?"_

_The little girl tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Mommy is going to paint me a present?"_

_The beautiful woman nodded. "What would be the symbol of Hinata, I wonder... How do you want to be taken by your future husband?"_

_Hinata knew her mother's secret language. She always told riddles to test her daughter's imagination; asking what she would like to wear for her wedding and what she would like to eat for her last meal... The cheeky child smiled as she watched her mom pick up a light pencil, ready to take her request._

_"I want to be taken...as a butterfly, Mommy," Hinata cooed as she hugged her mother's silked arm. "A butterfly that is so beautiful to the man's eye... I will be the most prettiest colored thing he has ever seen. I will be protected and cared for with all his heart!" She watched with her big eyes as her mother's swift hand began to sketch the body of the insect._

_"What would this butterfly become for this man, Darling?"_

_Hinata took a moment to think. "I will...be touched gently by his warm hands, as he guides me into the real world. He will kiss my wings very gently and keep me safe and warm at night when I am scared." Hinata watched as her mother quickly drew the large, frilly wings. "I will be someone he wants to keep forever and ever...like you and Daddy!"_

_The pale woman smiled wide at the statement, kissing her plump cheek as she opened a bambo box that held her water colored paint. "That is very wonderful, Darling. You will be his treasure for sure..."_

_"Mommy, when will I find him?" Hinata asked as she pointed out the light blue and lavender colors for the wings._

_She watched her mother's pupils change shape by magic. Beautiful designs of shapes lingered within the pupils of her shinning eyes. "He will find you when you are ready to be found, my sweetest butterfly. You will not know it until your destiny is proven infront of your eyes."_

_Hinata never knew her destiny, her mother never said, but she always took her mother's words to heart. She thought her mother was an angel that told the futures sometimes...as she grew up, she figured her mother was 'special' in a odd way. She once would ask her father about her riddles, and his only reply was that she was open minded to the world._

_She never thought she would find her destined man to protect her wings._

Hinata and Naruto sat on the forest's carpet, across from each other, as Naruto tied Hinata's laces back on her little foot. He was gentle as he set her foot back down on the ground and scoot his rear a few paces back to give her space. He had his usual smile on his face, the one where you could see all of his teeth.

"There, all done!" Naruto nodded once as he settled his distance away from her. "You know, I did feel that shoe on my face... Good aim!"

"A-arigato..." Hinata mumbled, staring at the blond as he rubbed the back of his head once more. "So..." she trailed off instantly when their gazes met, her cheeks turning red and stiffen her shoulders.

"You can ask anything you want...I'm not gonna turn down anything you're curious about!" Naruto's voice was so reasurring to her nerves. "If it will make you feel better, I'd be happy to answer anything, Dattebayo!"

Of course, as every girl would ask a vampire... "So...you're a actual vampire?"

Naruto nodded. "Yup, I am a vampire!"

Hinata's eyes narrowed curiously. "But...vampires drink blood."

"As a vampire, I drink blood." She felt her body lean back a bit as he said it so casually. "But, as you would think, I don't kill people to fill my thirst; I take a pint from every human I bite." She relaxed as he chuckled kindly.

"S-so...how old..?" Hinata asked next.

"I'm over ninety, I think... I lost count after my fourty-fifth birthday," Naruto pouted. "I was born in October of nineteen-twenties, I know that. But I don't know my actual birthdate."

"Where were you born?"

"Kyoto," Naruto sighed dreamly. "My mother was born and raised there, and also met my father. They got married there, too and had me born in a hospital hall- We didn't have proper hospitals back then, so it was like a one story building with many rooms, you know? But I lived in a really old Japanese house by the time my parents passed away." His eyes suddenly went a little dim with sadness. "They...were killed by vampires that weren't meant into the Kyoto territory. Sakura-chan was able to save me, but my parents passed on before she could save them."

Hinata's eyebrows furrowed. "I-I'm sorry..."

"Don't be, Hinata!" Naruto perked his cheeky smile. "It's good to ask questions. What else would you like to know?"

Her hand went up to her neck, lightly touching the area where Sakura's lips barely touched her skin with those razor sharp teeth. "A-ano...what Sakura-chan tried to do back there...what was she..?"

Naruto sighed. "That...was part of my test Sasuke was giving me," he said in a low voice of slight anger. "I have been doing tests since I have been turned to prove to Sasuke that I am not dependent on anyone...or loyal for that matter."

"Wh-...what do you mean?"

"Vampires have two different classes," Naruto said as he held up both of his index fingers. "One is the Purebloods, a vampire race that was born as a vampire and is considered royalty in this society; the other is Changes, the vampire race when a human is changed into a vampire. Purebloods used to be a very large family, but they're mostly wiped out..."

Hinata tilted her head to the side to let him continue. "Sasuke's family is the only Pureblood royalty I'm aware of, dating back to ancient times for sure. Many centuries ago, way before I was born, they were killed here on this property. I don't know the story, but I could ask Sasuke if you would like."

"It's...okay, N-Naruto-kun," her head tilted down. "So...you're a Change and Sakura-chan is a Pureblood?"

"No, Sakura-chan is...broken," Naruto bit on his last word. "Sakura-chan was changed -she used to be human- but something went wrong with the transformation. The person who did it did something to her that...causes her problems."

"Huh?"

"Changes and Purebloods both are capable to reproduce. Sakura-chan is sterile and is more of a stronger breed of a vampire: she is more strong then Purebloods and has this special power to heal wounds on herself and others if she wishes it. She is also unable to age at her own wish, so her blood is different by far...you're not able to kill Sakura-chan as easily as you could with other species," Naruto explained with deep thoughts. "That is something you would have to ask Sakura-chan yourself."

Hinata's eyes widened. Naruto noticed this quickly and waved his hand. "She's not going to hurt you! She was just making me spring into action; she would've never bit you, Hinata... Sakura-chan doesn't like biting."

"U-uhm...then why did she scare me like that?"

"Sakura-chan was letting me know the pain of what it's like when people you care about are in danger," Naruto answered in a shy voice. "Most likely the people you love is what causes vampires to do whatever it takes to save them."

"People you love?" Hinata repeated slowly.

"Aha...this may sound really foolish to you, Hinata, but...there is a thing that vampires get: it's a feeling that causes them to look for their 'destined one', as in their soulmate. It's a really old tradition that has been going on with vampires and humans alike." He looked up to the sky and did his best not to feel shy. "Humans feel it, too. But it's different... Uhm, I strongly believe that you are my soulmate, Hinata." The deep tint of pink reached his whiskered cheeks, suddenly unable to look at the blue haired girl. "It may sound foolish...but you're the only one I would take my life for to make sure you're safe and happy...Dattebayo."

_"The one who will protect your fragile wings will be the one who finds you first, Darling," Hinata's sweet mother's voice reached her mind in a soothing manner. "He will find you first and will always protect you, baby girl."_

"If you want to leave, I wouldn't blame you. Just don't tell anyone what we really are, okay? We're not doing anything wrong, we just want to live side-by-side," Naruto rubbed his temple slowly. "We won't bother you anym-"

"I trust you, Naruto-kun."

Naruto's head literally snapped to look at the young woman. Looking at her with wide eyes of surprise as a small smile touched her pretty lips, her face glowing right infront of the vampire blond. He could have blushed madly by her sweet expression and just hug her; but there was still the aftershock of realizing that your new friend is a blood-sucking creature of the night.

"Oh good..." Naruto forced a nervous smile. "Any other questions you have...?"

The girls soft eyes twinkled with curiosity as she reminded herself of the previous events that happened to her. "Sakura-chan...doesn't bite anyone? How does she feed?"

Naruto let his nervous smile turn confident with strength. "Why not ask her yourself? I'm sure Sakura-chan wants to apologize for scaring you."

The poor girl's eyes widened at the thought of going back to the mansion that was filled with vampires that feed on human blood.

=xxx=

Naruto led Hinata in by having her arm wrapped to his elbows as he guided her into the main hallroom; where they found Sasuke sitting in a very tall chair -or throne?- with Sakura sitting elegantly on his lap. Hinata noticed how her maroon-ish kimono had splotches of black stains around the collar; reminding herself that Sakura's blood was different compared to Naruto and Sasukes' when she asked the blond boy on the walk back of what was the difference. He explained what he exactly did to Sakura's skin to get her in his arms. He wasn't happy with the reaction of Hinata starting to tear up in her lavender eyes, but was quick to remind her of Sakura's special talent of healing any wound.

He met the gaze of the dark haired vampire, narrowing his blue eyes into angery slits of the man's plan to trouble him and two of the girls present in the room. Naruto was replied with the look of Sasuke's eyes flashing to crimson for a mere second, warning the blond boy that this was needed and not to test his way of teaching him.

"Naruto," Sakura's angelic voice echoed the room as she pulled her hand out of her kimono sleeve, holding two strip of cloth within her thin fingers, "you did a very good job protecting Hinata-chan." She tossed the thin strip when they made a few feet away from them.

Naruto caught the strips with his free hand and shoved it into his pockets. "Arigato."

"And Hinata-chan..." Hinata looked in awe of wonder as she saw her friend's once scary, black and beady eyes that are now back to the sparkling jades. "Hinata-chan, I am sorry for the actions I caused to scare you."

"I-It is okay, Sakura-chan! I'm a-alright now!" Hinata waved her hands around nervously, making the vampire woman smile sweetly.

"Sakura..." Sasuke gripped Sakura's thin waist as he leaned his face to her neck, pressing his lips onto her healed skin. "Why don't you take Hyuuga back into the dining hall and continue the teaparty she originally came here for?"

"Hai!" Sakura chirped as she let Sasuke carry her off of his lap onto the floor, scurring barefoot to grasp Hinata's hand and interlock her fingers. "I cleaned the spill, so I shall pour you another cup of mint tea. You have yet to try my cake as well!" She went at a human speed for the sensitive mortal to lead her out of the room and shut the large doors.

Uzumaki Naruto has not left his gaze at the Uchiha, a slight spark of anger still lingered visibly in his blue orbs. He was just waiting for the icecube man to start speaking.

"Naruto, you made the move to attempt to kill Sakura by trying to disconnect the spine of her neck," Sasuke said in a cool voice as he leaned back on the throne and tapped his fingers on the armrest. "You made a very smart move, and therefore I shall not teach you any longer as you have Hyuuga by your side and you will protect her."

Naruto still hasn't said a word.

"Although, I must confess my feelings every once in a while; I find it very...interesting on how Hyuuga is taking the truth so well. Care to assist me on that idea, Naruto?" Sasuke halt his drumming of his fingers as he watched Naruto settle on the floor and a sitting position, the kind of position when a King would be confronted with his own son and not a student: not afraid of the higher rank.

"Teme, I want to talk to you."

=xxx=

Hyuuga Hinata took large sips of the mint tea, sighing internally of the tingling of her tongue as the warm liquid went down her throat. She watched as Sakura poured her own cup and took little elegant sips; sitting on her shins like a real japanese kimono girl that she read in books, letting her curiosity get the best of her as jade orbs went to meet her gaze straight away.

"O-oh... Uhm, s-sorry," Hinata stammered as she looked at her cup instead. "N-Naruto has said y-you're...old?"

Sakura set her little cup onto the table, keeping her eyes on the mortal sweetheart that she has grown to like the friendship of the two. "Hinata-chan, you do not have to be nervous around me. I am not as scary as Sasuke-kun, am I?"

"N-no! I like you very much! I'm just...confused about how...you know? I don't know what, b-but I d-don't..."

"You're wondering how I was when I was human, are you not?" Sakura giggled. "Of how I was in my mortal life before I was changed."

"S-...sorta," Hinata blushed deeply with embarrassment. "I-I was curious on why N-Naruto-kun didn't tell me..."

"My life was not very simple, from the era that I am from," Sakura said with a soft expression, slowly helping Hinata's speeding heart. "I was sold by my parents to an okiya, which is a housing for Geisha women, when I was only a baby. They were very poor and were desperate to make money to survive the winter that year."

"A Geisha house?" Hinata thought openly.

Sakura nodded softly, smiling a little bit bigger. "It was a time when Geisha's were the only entertainment for the higher ranks... If you wish, I can tell you my story, Hinata-chan."

"Will be it okay?"

"My story is not common, nor is it rare," Sakura said as she settled her hands on her lap. "My story is the only one anyone could hear and never find anything close to be similiarity with it. It would always be nice for someone to hear it once in a great while of my immortal life."

"O-Oh... I would like to hear it then, Sakura-chan!" Hinata was now excited for the tale to be told by the young looking woman.

"Very well."

=xxx=

AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE: Next chapters or so will be how the SasuSaku came to be part of the story C: I know this plot is more NaruHina-centric, but I know people are curious about what happened to Sakura when she was human ewe What will be Sakura's tale of her old life before coming to the dark side of reality? Will there be some questions answered in the next chapter of the past? Will Kitty ever stop asking questions that the reader will probably not even answer?

Nyu, I hope you have a good day x3 Kitty loves Reviews, Follows and Favorites! Or anything to make you happy, you know? Kitty gets fuzzbally when you're happy~!


	6. Chapter 6

Kitty chosed to update on Wilting Roses early because she will be busy with other things for the rest of the week and the weekend. Kitty wanted to make sure she stuck to her own goal of updating once a week until the bigger plots came into place xD Kitty is very excited to write about SasuSaku's story in Wilting Roses. This is actually the pairing that made me want to make Wilting Roses in the first place, but have it surrounded with NaruHina for a centric OTP ewe How confusing am I, ne? Anyway, a few chapters will give out Sakura's life before she was changed into a mutated vampire. How did she become a mutated vampire? You're just gonna have to read these next chapters because Kitty doesn't do well with short explanations and prefers to make it into a lovely chapter filled with irony, gore, romance and other stuff ewe

So that you would be prepared for these chapters, I have given myself the idea of doing a quick note that the text will not be slanted _like this to show the past I have done in previous chapters, _but will be normal text like in present time C: I like to use my imagination of the scenes of slants in like a sepia hue or something. But Sakura's story will take you strictly to her time of her mortality as she tells it to Hinata. It will be in 3rd Person, as of the other chapters, and will vary thoughts and actions with other characters besides her...so I'm pretty much putting a story into a story that is still the same story... INCEPTION! There will be many words that people may not understand (since it's suppose to be an old-time Japanese world at this point) so I have made a quick glossary to assist you incase you become confused about anything:

Geisha- a traditional Japanese _entertainer; _young women who performs traditional dances and songs at what we would consider clubs or bars. Ever since WWII, they are greatly mistaken all over the world as prostitutes; which is a very common misconseption today. Geishas tend to start their training at a very young age and learn how to serve men drinks and foods, sing and dance traditional Japanese folklore and tell ancient stories to both men and women. There used to be a law when Geishas become a 'woman' by selling their virginity to the highest bidder to pay back their okiya- It is not a prostitution, but a way that the girl becomes a full woman to her society and rank and also pay off her debts. I believe it was outlawed as human trafficking in the sixties but I am not too sure.

Okiya- Basically where Geishas live. They live under the roof of a professional Geisha, which they call Mother (not biological, but a show of respect for her 'mothering way' of raising young girls under her home to become who they are) and can have an entire district filled with them. Geisha women pay back their Mothers' when they sell their virginity to pay off the food, clothing, medical care and any rules that the girl may have broken and cost Mother money. They are like traditional Japanese housing, sorta like a hotel themed with more then one flooring, depending on how many Geishas the Mother has. An okiya may also have slave girls serving for the Mother's property (okiyas are only run by _women). _

I think that is all I can do for you guys for now O: If you have any questions at all, don't be afraid to ask me anything! I may come off as an uber hyper fuzzball, but I don't bite people who ask anything they are confused about C: Hue taught me to be polite when needed!

REPLIES TO REVIEWS ON PREVIOUS CHAPTER (because some need answers ;D)-

jojo07- Please don't cry! D: I didn't mean to make you cry there! I just loved your review and it made my day like bubbles C; Kitty likes bubbles! Can I say that I screamed when I read that you screamed? Ne, it was because I was happy to make you go WHOO or something uwu Thank you very much for your kind words of support and I will be hearing from you soon, I believe xD Have a good day, ne!

Momopeach69- I am very glad to hear that you have been enkoying this story ;3 I feel very honored to have to take part in the experience of making each chapter; and I agree, I feel like this fanfic is a breather from the others (not that they're bad, but this is like ewe...Teen literature, or something?) I hope you will enjoy the chapter and have a nice day! ;D Answer: I will have to say YES and NO because...it's hard for me to say xD But keep up with the stories then the answer will be clear!

Dark0592- Whoa C: Thank you for the three reviews there, man. Uhm, I will not be needing a beta for this story, particulary because I only trust my two friends, Hue and Kiki, to check them over when I feel needed to o3o To me, my stories are only done as a hobby and I am truly lazy to look over and fix them, but I know readers will still catch on to the little mistakes C; Thank you for your offer and I hope you will enjoy the chapter and have a nice day!

Naruhinalover- I am SO glad you enjoyed the french fries xD I truly meant to put comic relief on there at some point of Hinata's surprise. Thanks a lot, man! ;D Answer: As to Momopeach69's response, it will be a YES and NO kinda deal; something you will have to continue on to find out because it will be difficult for Kitty to explain uwu I apologize but hope you will forgive me.

Remember to Review, Follow or Favorite to make Kitty a happy fuzzball... or anything else you want to do to make yourself happy! It's whatever you do to have a good day!

=xxx=

Wilting Roses

Chapter Six- A Geisha's Life

**Unknown Date, Winter**

Before Japan had designated places to call cities of Ancient Japan, there was many villages all over the island that had different names for different purposes. Where today's city is called Tokyo, there was many small villages with names of colors before land was properly named; Kyoto was known as the entertainment area of seasons for huntings, for the higher ranks and whoever had money to own a team of hunters to get you fur for money, and many other places with odd names that lingered out of the Royal Land of temples and Highnesses.

The Land of Seasons was settled by the land of mountains and wilderness; home of many entertainment bars and vacation homes owned by rich families. It was a blossoming place to be when you wished to be away from whatever causes you trouble, be welcomed with open arms and settle down for once in your life if you have the money to do it. Land of Seasons has a small district within it's village in the back, near the path towards the mountains of nowhere, of okiyas of many numbers. The greatest Geisha Mothers of their time take ownership into an okiya and would build it to extend and up. One okiya in particular is the housing in the very back, building itself to the mountainside of the property; a okiya as the size of a cow farm and as tall as two stories only.

The owner of the okiya was a beautiful woman with a cold soul, the best Geisha Mother known to the village and housed the prized possession a Mother could ever dream of having in the Land of Seasons. The beautiful woman with traditional black hair and dark eyes, the soul of a icy pond owned a perfect item that made her okiya grow since she paid the sickly couple many falls ago...

A young woman of the age of eighteen or nineteen springs, hair that drapped down to her hidden knees under the thick kimono of the color of cherry blossom trees. Sakura was named for her signature hair that was one-of-a-kind; a mistake that the gods made, but knew she would catch the eyes of many of her occupation. She was young and beautiful: pale skin and sparkling jade eyes that brightened a dark lit room, a voice of a spirit to draw in many from miles just to get a glimpse of the legendary Geisha. She had rumors of how her hair granted wishes if you find a single strand in the dirt road, wash it with heavenly oils and give it as a blessing to the temple. Yes, Mother was fond of her blossom's way of making business in this village.

Sakura wandered in her thick, bark-tree brown kimono and wrapped in a tiger's fur around her shoulders of the streets of Land of Seasons; catching every eye as her hair stood out from the dark fabric of her wear. She scurried if her furred boots over to the porch of her okiya home and was greeted by the sound of a child's cry.

"Sakura-chaaan, I have your hair piece ready for tonight!" a little girl of the age of six years hopped in her tattered clothing, clinging onto the expensive clothes Sakura had on herself. "Mother is going to adore this pattern, I promise."

"Ino-chan...why are you wearing your spring clothes? It's snowing outside, you know," Sakura said in a soft whisper, knowing that Mother always prefered silence in her housing, and tried to send the message to the little blonde sweetheart. "What happened to the clothes you had on this morning?"

"Mother took them to pay for your new kimono, Sakura-chan," Ino perked with a smile. "I do not mind it at all. I think you will be the brightest Geisha in the bar tonight! I'm glad the merchant sent the message of two families making their stay over here for the winter; Mother just went crazy for it!"

"Lets get you inside, dear. I don't want you to catch a cold." Sakura wrapped her arms around the little girl's body and carried her into the warm home, closing the paper door and hurried down the hallway and passing all the other serving girls in the same material as Ino. "Why would mother sell all of the servants clothing just to pay for a new kimono for me?"

"I overheard by accident that some of the family members are around your age, Sakura-chan," Ino answered in a whisper into her friend's pink hair. "Mother believes that if you get more rich men around your years, you will get more payment for the special ti-"

"I will not go for such a payment of my purity, Ino. You know this." Sakura slid open her bedroom's door and settled the servant girl down to let her hurry over to her futon. Her room was lit with many waxed bricks of candles to warm the room perfectly enough that she wouldn't need her tiger furr. She stripped herself of the heavy coat and set it gently onto the pile of other furs. Mother always seemed to spoil Sakura's hidden skin with exotic furs and fabrics to add to her exotic hair. "Not until you are of the age that I can pay for you too..."

Ino was a servant of Sakura's Mother's okiya, found in the pigs pen by Sakura herself and brought her home. She begged to Mother to accept the naked girl's existence and feed her, cloth her and have her make her money. Without knowing Mother's true intentions, Ino was named after the animal she was found next to and placed in the rank of the lowest servant. Ino, in Mother's eyes, was trash and treated her poorly by sending her to be Sakura's physical slave: taking care of her clothing and hair pieces, clean her sandals and escort her with her umbrella to keep Sakura's pink hair clean from rain and snow while she stands in nature's elements by drop off and pick up.

But Sakura adored Ino like a little sister. She knew from the time their eyes met in the middle of the night she was walking home from an appointed location to sing, that the gods of her era wanted her in her life; take care of her and someday take her along when she retired of her Geisha life. But Ino was a bit of a trouble maker, a slight clutz if you will, and always angered Mother in every way possible both purposly and accidentally. The little girl's debt to the okiya was already expensive with all of Sakura's kimonos and furs combined, and was still adding up. Since Ino's current life would never be able to make the same income as a Geisha, Sakura plans to pay off her own debt and Inos' as well; go someplace far away where the little girl could pick flowers anytime she wished and Sakura settling down with a man and start a family of her own. A sweet plan, yes, but there was the wrath of Mother's intention of keeping Sakura here longer then Sakura expected herself.

Ino showed Sakura by pointing to the bright red kimono with silvery lining of cherry blossom trees and branches, the obi was the color was a dark green with stitches of petals to match. The little blond girl hugged Sakura's leg with a spueal of excitement for her 'mission' tonight of escorting her older sister with a umbrella to the biggest housing of entertainment on town. Sakura ran her fingers along the obi with a soft expression of slight sadness and happiness at the same time. Of course, she was always happy performing for people and bringing joy to their lives, but it hurts Sakura in her heart to see Ino sell her needed clothes to keep warm just to pay... Sakura already had many kimonos for the occasion of new families coming to town, why was this any different?

"I picked it out for you," Ino chirped as she pressed her hand into her very, very short hair (as punishment for giving Mother cold tea, she cut her hair as short as the girl allowed her near).

"It is very beautiful, Ino-chan... I love it," Sakura forced a smile onto her lips as the little girl led her away from the clothing and settled her shins onto the floor, letting tiny hands run through her very long hair. "Do you have an idea for my hair, honey?"

"Yes," Ino said with a nod. "Mother will be shocked to see what I can do!" She lifted the light hair into her palms and began to run a jade comb through her long tresses, humming childishly as the pink hair began to shine against the candle's flickering light.

Sakura closed her eyes as she felt the soothing feeling of her young friend's gentle touches on her scalp and face, preparing her face and body for the arrival of new families coming to their village. Reminding herself that her only family was Ino, and if Mother had to sell the servant's clothing to get her closer to the goal of paying the debt, then so shall it be.

Her parents sold her to Mother when she was only a baby girl, never knowing the face of her birth mother or the sound of her birth father's voice, feeling their embrace when they passed the bundle over to her fate was unimaginable. Mother had told Sakura that they were very poor and unable to have the mother of Sakura feed her baby from the breast because she was starving; never giving the last name, Mother named Sakura for her pink hair, and the only fact that she was born in Springtime. She was not born as a Geisha but now her fate was changed by the doing of life...unable to leave this part of her life unless she sold her virginity to the highest bidder, then the young woman will steal away the child and go somewhere far away.

Sakura's chest suddenly felt numb for a moment, as if something went into her thoughts of forgetting, she jumped and startled Ino. She assured her that she felt like she was going to sneeze, letting Ino continue with her brushing as Sakura's mind raced for an explanation for her troubled thoughts...

A large group of people tampled through the deep snow, huddling together into a large pack as they caught a glimpse of lit lanterns and people moving within the limits of the village. The front of the crowd threw their hands up to let the others behind know they were near their destination.

"Are the women doing well, Mikoto?" the tall figure spoke in his masculine voice. "Both ours and Naras'?"

"Um!" the slightly shorter figure replied. Sticking an arm out to wrap around her lovers arm, Uchiha Mikoto hugged closer to Fugaku's body. "And your half?"

"Silent as usual..." Nara Shikaku grumbled next to his friend as he snorted with no interest. "Our sons seem to be getting along quite well though. It pleases Yoshino-chan that our son has a...companion to keep him off of our backs."

"Silence!" Yoshino smacked her husband's arm. "Until we settle by a fire, you must not say another word or I will have you hung in our room!"

Mikoto giggled at her friend's violence as Shikaku tried to calm her, glancing over her shoulder she witnessed the three only people who weren't joining along with the combined clans; quickly making out her two sons wrestling each other to the ground as another figure, Shikaku and Yoshino's son, Shikamaru, following them lazily after. She was happy to see the princes of both vampire clans to get along with each other as they seeked refuge as they were migrating back home in a unnatural weather. Vampires may not be well knowned to be snow friendly, but the heads of the clan insisted in going together to force their bond stronger.

"Nii-san! Get back here!" Uchiha Sasuke yelled as he launched himself against the winter winds to tackle his older brother. He was able to pin Itachi into the feet of snow and try to bury him alive. "You threw that snowball, I know it was you!"

Itachi laughed as he tried to push his little brother off of him. Snow was covering his face as they wrestled around with the feeling of their mother watching them closely; she was always protective of her children and all the members of the Uchiha Clan. "Get off, little brother."

"Hey, what about me?" another young male voice was heard. Shikamaru heaved his lungs as he clung to Sasuke's cloak, pulling him off his prey as he pushed him down. "You are all so troublesome, do you know this?"

"Keep up with the pack or miss a nice meal," Itachi said teasingly. He stood back up and brushed his hand to get rid of the snow. "I hear that blood here is very lively."

"But we are not suppose to feed off of them unless they permit it," Shikamaru stated lowly. He pulled his hood closer to his face to hide from the winter's harsh winds. "You wish to get under the skin of my mother, go right ahead." He peered downwards to his other companion in the snow. "Don't follow your brother this time, Sasuke...unless you wish to make a fool of yourself once again."

Both standing forms didn't get a response from the lively spunk, making them worry for the odd behavior as they stepped closer to him. They pulled him up and found his face expression to be...surprised and scared.

"Sasuke?" Shikamaru pressed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You alright?"

Sasuke stared ahead of the dimmed lights of the village, as if someone called his name of a person he has not seen a long time.

"Little brother, what is-"

"She is here, Nii-san," Sasuke said in a quiet breath. "The _feeling, _Nii-sama..." With eyes set onto the displayed destination, the young looking man began sprinting his way through the snow: passing all members of clans and going ahead of the group, turning heads and whispers of confusion in a instant of the vampire prince's action.

"Sasuke?" Fugaku said when he saw his youngest son hurry passed him, yelling out to him to stay near the pack as he ordered proved worthless. "What is the matter with him?"

"He is...looking, Fugaku-kun," Mikoto said with soft eyes, looking at her son's figure shrinking by the meresecond at a inhuman speed. "He has...found her, Fugaku. Sasuke has found the one!" The wife of Fugaku suddenly let go of her lover's arm and took off from the head of the back, causing even more questions into the mixed clans.

"Mikoto!" Fugaku strained as his friend next to him laughed with his wife. He found his eldest son and Shikamaru approaching to fill in the missing space and shield a member of either clan with their broad bodies. "Of all places to find the soulmate...it had to be here?"

"Love comes in mysterious ways, Father," Itachi hummed thoughtfully, pulling his cloak out to cover a youthful looking woman who pressed herself to his back, purring for his comforting gesture. "Didn't you learn that the same way?"

"Times are suppose to change like clothing, my son..."

=xxx=

Sakura closed her eyes at the rocks behind her head sparked a sprite of fire above her, saying a quick prayer of the Geisha before standing up from her traditional sitting position and went outside the door's crossing. Mother eyed over her 'child' and gave an approving nod.

"You will do _good _on any other night, Sakura," Mother's smoked voice whispered into Sakura's ear. "But tonight...you must do _perfect _for the newcomers. Do you understand my wishes, Daughter?"

"I shall win the eyes of the youthful watchers of my customers, Mother," Sakura said the words in a elegant tone, not showing fear for Mother's cold stare or moved an inch when her long nails traced her jaw errie-like. "I shall please you and pay back to the okiya in my given days, Mother...I live under your rule and shall express the okiya's great talent of the Cherry Blossom Girl."

"Very good. Now go."

Sakura bowed her decorated head, hearing the hanging gold from her hairpin as her long hair fell over her shoulder and touched the white tiger's stripes. Ino's creation was part of Sakura's bang being pulled back into a braided bun and glittered with beautiful hair pieces of shining gem flowers and gold leaves, leaving the rest of the length to fall in glorious waves; her face was flawless of white makeup and the traditonal red lipstick, instead having light pink lip-paint on her doll-like lips and nature's glitter on her eyelids to brighten her sparkling eyes. Her kimono proved perfect to her thin body as the coat of a white tiger was wrapped snuggly around her upper body. She went under the opened umbrella that Ino held in the shivering cold as they left down the grounded path of the snowing weather.

"Do you think they will give you money on the first visit? I hear they are new to the whole Geishas," Ino began chattering away once the okiya and Mother was out of their sight, entering the sanded pathway of the village and guided by painted lanterns that lit their way to open bars. "I bet they will adore your dancing."

"I will know once I get there, Ino..." Sakura said quietly when Ino's fingers locked with hers' in a firm grip. "I want you to hurry back and stay in my bedroom, do you understand what I am ordering? I don't want you to get sick."

"Hai, I shall," Ino nodded as she saw the blue colored lanterns in the distance, suddenly jumping as she climbed through the snow and smiling widely. "Ohh, do tell me the events when I go to bed, Sakura-chan! Please do!"

"I will keep my end of the bargain if you keep to yours, Ino." Sakura stopped walking and let go of Ino's small hand. "You head back now; I can walk the rest of the way just fine, sweetie."

"Hai! I wish you luck and prayers, Sakura-chan," Ino bowed her head lowly and ran off under the umbrella, bouncing out of her sight before Sakura entered into the lobby part of the bar.

"Sakura-neechan!" a servant of the bar greeted with a cheeky smile. "Allow me to take your fur and put it in the Honor's hold, Sakura-neechan." She was quick to strip Sakura from her tiger fur and shut the winter's wind out with the shouji door and a thick curtain.

"Arigato..." the feeling in Sakura's chest returned after hours of shutting it out. She forced a soft smile onto her pink lips as she saw how hard the servant was working to please the popular Geisha. "How busy are we tonight, dear?"

"We have the usuals and the two families... Sakura-neechan, they are very massive. It surprised me on how the bar's Mother is capable of holding them all as well as her favorite costumers!" the servant puckered her chapped lips before bowing. "Enjoy your night, Sakura-neechan... if you need anything, please pick onto my sisters."

Sakura bowed back, ignoring the _burning _feeling that was hitting her ribs as she approached the silky curtain that covered the vision of chatters and clinking china. She took in a breath and pushed open the silk with her covered hand with a beautiful smile that made every usual costumer call out her name.

=xxx=

"Ne, Sakura darling! Do tell of the tale of the purple-toed monkey that took over the onsen, I adore that tale!" an elderly man laughed as he gripped onto his wife's wrinkled hand as she used the other to wipe away a tear from laughing so hard. "That one makes the need to go outside!"

The laughing table Sakura was pulled into first was the usual costumers of elderly people; sweet natured and knew Sakura ever since she was in the Geisha teaching courses, always giving her compliments and spread the word of Sakura's natural talent of pleasing anyone of any age. She adored these kind of people because they share their own stories with her and beg her to tell it back, since she was told she said the story better then them.

"Oh my, I have said it many times before," Sakura giggled into her sleeve as she poured the man another cup of tea. His wife agreed but pleaded with him to tell the tale. Other Geishas around their table and new faces glanced at the young woman with the table of elders; whispering good things and had the Geishas poke her right shoulder to remind her to visit their table sometime to assist them with their job.

A older servant of the bar scurried over, dropping to her knees and bowed to the floor in apology of disrupting Sakura from starting the story of the purple-toed monkey, waiting for the payer of the table to nod his head for the woman to speak in a shy voice. "I am afraid Sakura is requested to the newcomer's table...and they wish to see her now."

"Well, who wouldn't want to meet the flower of this town?" a drunk elder man slurred as he pressed against his buddy. "Go on ahead, Sakura-chaaan! I'll take the show from here!" His friends at the table Sakura has placed herself at for the last hour began clapping and gently assure Sakura to leave the table.

Sakura bowed her head and promised the women that she would come back to say her goodbyes when it was time, standing up from her shins and followed the servant over to the back of the bar where a very large table sat on the floor and crowded by many bodies of cloaked people. Sakura saw how _beautiful _all their faces looked, their hair silky and long as they talked among themselves with their clear and distracting faces. Many of them had black-ish hair to the color of silvering grey on youthful faces as the servant clapped her belled wrists to get their attention in a calming way for her rank.

"Allow me to introduce the Geisha you have requested, Sire," the servant bowed horribly as she scurried away to leave Sakura to fend for herself infront of all these beauties.

"My name is Sakura," Sakura's voice was cool and smooth as she dipped her head perfectly. She found a man and woman standing up from their sitting positions, signaling to the young girl that they were the head of the table.

"Please to see the most requested Geisha in the village," the man said. His masculine face showed no sign of emotion as he tilted his head in greeting. "My name is Uchiha Fugaku and this is my wife, Mikoto."

Sakura bowed her head once again and was internally surprised that the wife spoke. "It is great to see such beauty of spring in the time of winter. You truly hold the soul of the cherry blossom tree itself, my dear."

"You are far too kind of the comment, Uchiha-neechan," Sakura named the wife as an elder sister of respect; which is was the first thing she was taught in her teachings. She was settled next to the woman named Mikoto and a young man around Sakura's age. She bowed her head in greeting before picking up the teapot that held the hot tea that was brewed just recently. "Would you allow me to pour your cup to cool?"

The young man gave the oddest stare Sakura has ever encountered in her career as a Geisha, a blank face as the black eyes seemed to bleed itself into Sakura's skin, sending a sharp pain hitting her ribs as the burning sensation hit harder. When the man pushed with his index finger towards the cup, she took it as a silent yes and poured the hot tea with her eyes glancing down to disconnect the gaze.

"Pardon my son's silence. He has been a bit on edge since we have arrived," Mikoto mewled as Fugaku bent his head down to press his lips onto Mikoto's skin. "Why not tell a tale of somekind, my dear?"

"Of what tale would you wish to hear?" Sakura asked as she set the teapot down gently. She found every eye at the table being set on her and her alone, suddenly noticing how everyone at the table was silent to hear her voice.

"Something that will...enchant us," Mikoto pressed with a smile that made Sakura's heart flutter.

"Mm... The tale of the Butterfly Lovers is the most popular among my usual costumers for pretty tales," Sakura thought outloud for purpose reasons, seeing how whispers of interest echoed among the table. "It was time beyond the ages of the elders when this took place; a young woman was a father's most prized possession-"

"Another cup."

Sakura was stopped with her story's introduction to find that the young man, Sasuke, was holding out his cup towards her; seeing that the cup was bone dry after she has expressed that the tea was still hot enough to burn even the toughest mouth in Land of Seasons. She didn't look into his staring eyes that were burning into through her hair as she poured the tea into his cup once again, watching the cup disappear and reappear once again as empty.

"U-uhm..." Sakura was confused by the man's actions towards her of repeating the pouring process.

"The tea is very good."

Sakura poured her costumer's cup _again _and was too quick to set down the teapot to turn her attention back to her other guests, who were still watching the girl silently. "The father's daughter was a very wise girl, indeed; being able to surpass his advisors that were elderly enough as earth and has seen everything with their blinding eyes. On the daughter's birthday...she asked her father to help her enter into schooling where only young men were permitted..."

Sakura continued her story, but struggled with her own heartbeat as Sasuke's eyes continously stared onto her unmeeting face, unable to look how every once in a while he would ask for her to pour another cup of tea. The feeling of the burning..._emotion_ that is spreading throughout her whole body and being that it nearly hurt.

But she didn't know how bad it was hurting Sasuke as well on the inside of his body either.

The Geisha told her story that lasted for only half of an hour; instantly being asked by the listeners for another tale of anykind and listened fully as the pink haired girl spoke in her usual tone...catching the eyes of both men and women as they unconsiously pressed their way closer to the head of the table to get a closer look at the detailed features of her hair and face. She was friendly with everyone at the table, willing to halt her story and answer intrupted questions that the Uchiha members couldn't hold in a second longer and gracefully go back into the detailed story. This went on for longer then expected, causing the Mother of the bar to keep the lights on for the newcomers to listen in on Sakura, promising to share the payment secretly with Sakura's okiya servants to feed them.

It was when a servant that was plumped and fearful to cause Sakura to look up from her fortune telling of Mikoto's everlasting beauty when the woman grasped Sakura's shoulder.

"Sakura-neechan...there is an emergancy at the front door. Come quickly!" she pulled Sakura up from her spot, leaving the guests at the table in bickers of the interuption. She yanked Sakura passed the silky curtain to find Ino standing in the doorway with blue lips and shivering uncontrollably. "I just found her out here a moment ago; she said she was told to wait here when she returned to her okiya!"

"Ino!" Sakura shrieked in a shocked voice, ripping her hand out of the servant's grip and pulled the freezing girl into her arms, shivering at the sudden cold onto her face as she moved her whole body around to cause friction. "What are you doing? I told you to stay home in my room!"

"M-M-M...M-Mother s-s-sai-said...to-to-o come ba-back a-and w-w-ait until...t-th...the closing g-g-gong..." Ino said barely above a whisper as she pressed her body hard against her warm friend. "I-It d-d-did-didn't g-go off!"

Sakura unlocked Ino's frozen hair and breathed into her skull as she started crying little tears. Mother had sent the little girl back to the bar and wait outside in her springtime clothing until closing time; what on earth was that woman thinking of sending a six year-old out into the cold with no thick fabric or furs? The servant hurried off into the kitchen to alert her Mother of her findings and request for the Mothers hospitality, leaving the popular Geisha on the verge of tears for the first time in her public office. She didn't look up to see if any of the Uchihas have bothered to follow her to see what was the screaming about, just continuing the rubbing of her hands on Ino's iced skin and used to nail to scratch it off.

"Baby... I'm so sorry, baby girl," Sakura sobbed as she looked into Ino's blue eyes, watching as she stared back and tried to smile to her older sister's sadness. "You should have stayed here in the kitchen..! It's all my fault."

"I-I-It is not..." Ino trailed off as her eyes moved to behind Sakura, looking up with a thoughtful expression of whatever was behind her.

Sakura turned her tear-stained face to see Uchiha Sasuke standing at the silked curtain, looking in a blank expression at the pink haired Geisha; almosting gripping to the curtain that shield part of Shikamaru's body, but allowed him to peek over his friend's shoulder to look at what caused the man to spring from his table. He saw the odd-haired Geisha clinging to a small child, a girl from seeing her long, frozen lashes.

"What do we have here, Sasuke?" Shikamaru said outloud, startling the pink haired girl to press the child closer to her body in a protective manner. She must've thought they were going to become angered for leaving the Uchiha's table to see a servant girl nearly freezing to death? Now, what kind of people would the Nara and Uchiha Clan be if they did that?

Sasuke didn't say anything, taking slow human steps forward and knelt down to pry the girl out of Sakura's arms, sending her into a silent panic as the dark haired stranger pick Ino out of her grip and carried the child over to his friend.

"Get your table to warm her up and give her a hot drink," Sasuke ordered in a flat tone. He didn't wait for his friend to take the freezing child and forced Shikamaru's arms to cage the child as his friend shut the silky curtain.

"Bah, what a controlling bastard," Shikamaru muttered, looking down at the child who was staring at him with a confused expression. "He is troublesome..."

Sakura watched Sasuke's back stiffen at the sudden realization that he was now alone with the Geisha be has been staring at for many hours on end. He slowly turned his way around to have his toes face the crouching girl as she shivered at the sudden stare he was giving her; although his eyes were different this time as Sakura was finally meeting his eyes, the expression of fear and...sadness?

"You can get up," Sasuke said in a quiet tone. "It will be alright for your friend... I promise you." He stuck out his large hand towards the Geisha, silently asking her to take his hand to help her up. "I promise everything will be alright, Sakura."

The sound of her name on his tongue was almost enchanting to her ears, slowly reaching up and let her small fingers just touch his fingertips. A shock spread through both of them as Sasuke pressed on to gently grip her hand, pulling her up with such ease and feel the leaving breath she had in her lungs when she reached to her feet and was only inches away from his clothed chest, feeling the heat that was giving off of him.

She looked up to his black gems, slowly biting her lip as her eyes dripped another set of tears down her soft-looking cheek. "Thank...you, she mean so much to me."

His free hand slowly raised up and touched his fingers to her face, wiping away her falling tear with his thumb and freely touching the forbidden skin of a Geisha's cheek. Truthfully, he knew the ways of how Geisha's exposed skin could not be touched by the costumer, but he did not care for the slightest idea of what he was doing.

He found the one his immortal life was destined to find one day or another, finally meeting her upclose and have her jade emeralds look deep into his black gems; looking into his mysterious soul that many historians would believe his kind did not possess. There was no way he was leaving this village with her here, finally wishing to stay by her side and help her through her struggles...

"Everything will be okay, Sakura... Just smile to me." Sakura heard his gentle request, not as a costumer nor someone who had higher power over her. She felt the deep passion his voice held for only one person, which she figured quickly it was her, and felt her lids flutter close as her lips twitched upward; unconsiously pressing her cheek into his oh-so-warm hand and allowed his fingers tangle into her loose pink strands.

She knew that everything in her struggling life would be at ease with this man here, the one who is making the burning feeling within her chest disappear with his gentle touch.

=xxx=

AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE- WHOOP~ What'cha think people? xD My ancient Japan Geography isn't all that bad considering I know nothing about Japan's history whatsoever o-o So I just came up with my intake of what it could've been like at this unknown age of Sakura's human life as she met her soulmate C: Next chapter will continue of Sakura's short strand of living and having a human heartbeat!


	7. Chapter 7

Nyuuuuu~ *moves head in cirular motions as she imitates race cars in 'Nyu's* I feel like I'm very fuzzbally, so this chapter will do it's best to be longer to finish quicker so we can get back to the NaruHinaness, nyu! I know most of my readers for Wilting Roses for the NaruHinaness and I am probably killing the vibe for that ;A; But remember how I said that SasuSakuness is part of the plot for this story? No? Oh...well, yeah it generally is uwu' Forgive Kitty and her slow processing with things.

I have done a little time skip of about four weeks since Sakura and Sasuke met for the first time, so the backstory would go a bit quicker for you guys. 'Cause Kitty is really excited for the bigger chunk of the story to start! ewe It hasn't started yet? No? Oh...well, yeah the bigger stuff will happen sooner or later. Why does Kitty take so long with everything? I'm just glad you guys take the time to keep following pwp' Kitty loves how you guys are faithful to this story as I try the best as I can to keep my readers pumped for the next chapter! Although sometimes it feels better to settle it down with my personal favorite romance: dark and mostly fatal.

REPLIES TO REVIEWS (that need a answer)-

charmedprincess101- Yeah, I know it's going fast and thats the only thing I do not like about this story! QwQ I'm glad you still like it though, that makes me fuzzbally. I hope you will enjoy the chapter and have a very nice day! Cx

harusaki-tsukiko- Aw, thank you ;w; I'm glad you like it so far and such x3 That makes me fuzzbally about hearing new people review! Karin? ;D Oh, she's gonna be in the story for sure, but I promise that you will...ACCEPT her part in the story xD I can't tell you what she does but she is actually a likeable character in this story and I actually do like her when she's not after Sauce-gay. And I will say that NejiTen will be in the story for sure C: Just because you're kind enough to ask, but I can not say more about it! -zips mouth shut- I hope you have a nice day and enjoy the chapter!

GD21- Yeah uwu But I promise you will feel even more sad for Ino! -in a good way, I hope- She is actually a cool character in this story and Masashi's story but you stick to your opinion ;D I hope you will enjoy the chapter and have a good day with good things!

I hope you will enjoy the chapter and have a very good day x3 Kitty likes it when you're all happy because she gets fuzzbally!

=xxx=

Wilting Roses

Chapter Seven- A Vampire's Lover

It has been many nights when Sakura first met Uchiha Sasuke at the bar her Mother told her to take charge with her looks and talent, unknowingly catching a set of eyes that would drive her heart into a flutter of doves whenever he would be the first to find her as she entered any bar Mother assigned her to; quick to touch her silky face with his long warm fingers before any other Geishas entered through her destined door. His eyes would never leave her body as he _escorted _her to their table, ignoring the complaints of the usual costumers complaining of stealing her first for their table's entertainment and would still watch her from a distance when she had to move to the next. She would not say it to anyone, but she liked the attention he was giving the particular Geisha, as many others were trying to swoon for his attention.

She would also get presents sent to her okiya, by the servants of the bar they first met at. Small gifts of fresh fruits of oranges and apples, herbs for tea and eggs to cook for breakfast in the morning. Whenever the servants pass the basket to Ino and have her run to Sakura's room, bursting in and asking her older sister figure what in the world was going on and how do fresh fruits grow in the middle of a winter's storm. She would reply that she didn't know but would find a slip of cloth with writing on it of kanji... Sakura can not read, so she could not figure out who was sending it to her (unless she wanted Mother to get involved, since she was the only one in the household to read any messages). But Sakura would keep every strip of letters in her obi before going to the bar, hoping that the sender of the gifts would confront her and maybe read the messages to her.

One night, that is what happened to the young Geisha.

The winter storm was worsening that night, unable to have the usual elders take part in their routine of visiting their favorite girl at the blue lanterned bar and lighten the scenery with their laughs and loud drunk chatters. Sakura was settled in a singular room to rest her voice and take a tea break, unable to be allowed to drink the tea along with the two families that she knew the names of Uchiha and Nara; thanking a young servant woman for dropping off a small teapot of tea and rice balls before sliding the shouji door close.

She began nibbling elegantly on the frozen seaweed wrap and trace her emerald eyes of her winter blue kimono of snowflakes. She didn't hear the door reopening until a small 'clack' of the wood colliding to have her head snap up to find _Sasuke _sitting down infront of her on the bare floor.

Her eyes widened when she found him reaching for the small teapot to fill her cup with the steaming tea. This move that Sasuke was displaying was not right for this era of society: a _costumer _serving a _entertainer! _"U...Uchiha-sama, what are you-"

"Sasuke."

"Uhm...what, Uchi-"

"You can call me Sasuke, Sakura," Sasuke said as he placed the teapot back on the wooden tray. "I would be most honored if you called me by my first name..."

"Sasuke...-kun," Sakura said very slow, "what are you doing in the employee wing?"

His black eyes met her emerald jades as a big smile graced his perfect lips. He reached over and picked a grain of rice from her kimono lap, jerking her thighs as she didn't know how her food was spilling. "I came to see you, that is why I am here."

"I would be out in a few moments, Uch- Sasuke-kun. I'm sorry if I took too long," Sakura said in a apology tone, having the dark haired man shake his head slowly. "Did you...need something from me?"

Sasuke bit his thumb to eat the grain of rice he picked from the girl's dress. "I have noticed you haven't replied to the gifts I have been sending... Why is that?"

Sakura blinked before looking down to her hands in shame. "Sasuke-kun...I did not know it was you who sent the thoughtful gifts."

"I have written my name at the end of every note I made..." Sasuke defended softly with gentle eyes.

"I can not read..." Sakura set her rice ball on the wooden plate before reaching into her obi and pulled out a random strip of cloth with inked writing. "I have saved every note, to think that someday I could figure out the calligraphy. But I am afraid I am unable to get resources to learn." She unfolded the cloth and held it out shyly to the dark haired man. "Can you read it to me...Sasuke-kun?"

Uchiha Sasuke looked at her covered hand, looking at the elegant strokes of his calligraphy brush as he reminded how long he would sit in his inn room to figure out what to write to his..._special one_ to figure out firsthand that she can not read! He slowly took both of his hands up and gently gripped to Sakura's soft hand, holding hers' still as he read outloud of his note.

"To the only flower that I would pick in the time of spring and winter..." Sasuke swallowed thickly as he felt his heart starting to beat harder. "I hope these small gifts will help you feel less hungry as you feed my heart with your voice... Uchiha Sasuke." He didn't bother to look up to see Sakura's clear face blushing madly, feeling her little fingers twitch nervously as he still held onto her palm. "Did you like them...?"

"Hai, Sasuke-kun..." Sakura's voice cracked, her heart pounding achingly against her ribs when his warm thumb _rubbed _soothingly on her skin. "U-uhm...why would a man be so kind to a Geisha's okiya, let alone her individually? I am nothing special of anything more then a woman who keep the bar friendly and alive."

Sasuke reached over and let one of his hands grip her chin to have her pretty eyes meet his. His expression was as soft as the snow falling outside as he leaned closer, filling in the space. He was close enough to feel her shaking breaths as her cheeks darkened to another set of pink.

"I have been searching for a _long time _to find the one who would cause my chest to burn," Sasuke said in a whisper as the thumb on her chin slowly graced up to touch her cheek oh-so-gently with his fingers. "For so long I have dreamed of having the burning emotion in my chest, just wanting to find _you _and have you this close like now."

"The burning in the chest...it feels weird, Sasuke-kun," Sakura stated unconsiously, pressing her cheek as she looked into his pretty eyes and have his fingers touch her silky hair that he enjoyed touching. "Why will it not stop..?"

"I do not know, but I do not wish for it to stop," Sasuke whispered, his fingers tracing her jaw in a soothing motion. He slowly leaned in closer to press his forehead against hers'.

"Sasuke-kun...how long have you been looking for me?" Sakura asked as her lower lip trembled. "You say years you have been looking..."

"I have been alive for a long time, longer before your parent's parents were born. I am a creature you may have told stories of; the kind that feel strength at night and feed off of the warm blood of human flesh," Sasuke said, watching her mouth move the words 'vampire' and nodded slowly. "Do you fear me?"

"No..." Sakura's head shaked as her free hand reached up to touch his lips, curious to see if the legends were true of the sharp fangs that pierced the softest skin to feed off of the iron-tasting blood. "No...I could not fear you...Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke heard the words of the Geisha, suddenly fearing the gods who would see this action the immortal creature did; pushing the wooden tray out of his path as he used his other hand to push through her long pink hair and pressed his lips against hers, kissing her doll-like lips with such forbidden fashion that it took Sakura's breath away. He felt her hands touch his neck and face as he slanted his mouth over hers and continued the kiss that was against Sakura's beliefs of her Geisha lifystyle: a Geisha can not marry while in her career, nor can she _ever _kiss anyone... but Sakura's thoughts numbed out of her rules as her heart fired for the perfection Sasuke was giving her, portraying a kind of relief in Sakura's harsh lifestyle under Mother's ruling and fearing every night as she snuck out her basket to eat the juicy fruits Sasuke had picked out for her.

Sakura couldn't help but sigh against his lips as he worked his magic with his kisses. "Sasuke-kun... Sasuke-kun..." she was starting to run out of air in her lungs, her heart adding on to the odd discomfort of feeling his body press closer. She slowly pulled away from his inviting lips and inhaled as much air as she could.

Sasuke breathed in her warm scent of flowers, seeing how her eyes dropped tiredly from the heated kiss he had just performed. His mother would have at him when he would return to the table after leaving without saying anything; but what he was busy doing in the employee wing was strictly important, feeling his every being surround the Geisha in a instant. He didn't want to leave her side anymore after feeling Sakura's fingers touch all over his face as he allowed her to touch his lips carefully. He pressed his lips to her fingertips, kissing the digits lovingly as he heard her exhale dreamily.

"Sasuke-kun..."

"Come with me, Sakura," Sasuke said against her skin. "I can take you away from here and keep you safe and loved... I love you and I want you to come with me."

"I...I can not, Sasuke-kun... I must pay back my debt and Ino's as well," Sakura shuddered as she wished so badly for him to kiss her again. "I have to...I have to pay back with my purity if I want to leave the okiya properly. I could forever be damned by the gods if I do not obey the code."

Sasuke leaned his head down and began pressing his lips to her flower stem neck, just kissing softly to have her change her mind. Her thoughts blurred, but the image of Ino's small body shivering from mistreatment was impossible to forget of her dear little girl. "I can not, Sasuke-kun... Not yet... Ino needs me and I can never leave her. Please understand."

"I do," his voice vibrated against her skin, causing her to shiver. "Ino is important to you and I do understand, Sakura..."

"Sasuke-kun, I can not sell my pure self... I don't want to sell," Sakura's eyes teared up slowly, closing her eyes to try and get rid of them as Sasuke's hands pet her long hair and he kept kissing her neck and scraping his perfect teeth against her skin. "I want someone right to take it..."

"I will stay behind and wait," Sasuke whispered. He raised his head and kissed her soft hair, closing his eyes as he cupped her crying face. "I will wait as long as I have to and Ino can come with us... I will bid for you."

"I promised her I would take her somewhere she could get flowers," Sakura hiccuped as Sasuke kissed her tears away. He soothed her sobbing body with his hands and lips only, knowing how her body would react if he would try and _take _her here where no one would disturb them. "Flowers and the sun warming her skin."

"It will happen someday, Sakura. Do not cry..." He kissed her face over and over until her tears stopped and allowed himself to hold her small, hungry body; hearing how her soul was malnourished for food and her hands clung to his winter cloak, seeking warmth from the only man she knew herself would touch her body, allow him to comfort her when she let her tears fall. "I will do anything to make you happy, Sakura."

=xxx=

Sakura entered her bedroom to find Ino having a coughing fit. For the past few days, Ino has been taking outdoor chores to bid Mother's favor in giving her an extra blanket; tending to the chickens and hitting the rugs over the line to get rid of the dust. She has been having trouble sleeping at night with coughing and sneezing hard enough to make her throat hurt gravely. Sakura took the liberty of sneeking Ino into her bedroom and cover her with all of her furs to warm her up before Mother would begin yelling for them, sharing a healthy fruit from Sasuke's gift to ease her bellyaches.

"Sakura-chan, you're home late again. Did you find the person who gave you the gifts?" Ino sniffled and wiped her running nose on her dirty yukata.

"Yes...I wish not to talk about it," Sakura whispered with tinted cheeks. She stripped her black bear fur and got to her knees by Ino. "Take off your clothes, honey. They're soaking wet!" She brushed off the dust of snow that still took place on Ino's head and pulled the string that held her little friend's robe together, letting it all fall to the floor and drape her bear fur over her shoulders, wrapping them in place perfectly and settle her onto the bed. "Has Mother gotten my request?"

"Yes. But she said she will not pay," Ino answered with a slight frown. For the past couple of days, Sakura has asked for Mother's hand in Ino's illness to get her a doctor and medicine. Everytime she asked after a successful night of getting tips from the Uchiha and Nara Clan, she has said no. "I will be okay though! Just a little nap and I shall go back to work."

Sakura hid her worried expression as she hugged Ino's tiny body. She would share her last orange with her to give her vitimans for her immune system and wipe her nose while she slept in Sakura's comfortable futon, under piles of fur as she would light every candle to warm the room.

Ino fell asleep in Sakura's bed after coughing up white substances outside her window.

The next day, Ino didn't wake up until the afternoon when Sakura checked her forehead to feel it burning up.

That night, Ino didn't eat anything at all.

The day after...Ino couldn't feel her legs anymore.

Sakura sttod straight as she could outside of Mother's office room, allowing the servant to open the door for her as she walked into the Lion's Den. She settled her shins on the cushion seat as Mother's black eyes shot up to see the silent intruder right before her.

"Sakura, what do you want?"

"Ino can't walk, Mother. She needs a doctor quickly..." Sakura's voice was stern and strong as she let her jade eyes spit fire onto her Mother's face. "Please help her."

Mother's thin lips twitched upwards into a sneer. "That piglet is the only one who bothers to get ill at a expensive time, Sakura... Let the gods do their doing if it must be done." She dipped her calligraphy brush on the ink plate before writing her next signature.

"My little sister needs medical attention, you must send a message to the village over and request a doctor," Sakura pressed on. "Add it to my debt, she needs help!"

"I am not paying treatment for a servant's cold," Mother growled. "You should be getting ready for tonights performance, shouldn't you? You're dancing with my Sister's Daughter in the tale of Two Wives."

"I am not."

Mother's fingers snapped the bamboo branch of her brush, spraying ink all over her document she was signing for next month's fish delivery. "What...did you say?"

"I am not dancing tonight, nor am I going to go to entertain," Sakura said with a flat tone, causing Mother's fist to pound onto the desk and she didn't even flinch. "Tonight I am setting my bid for the next sunset."

Mother's silence was the worst thing for Sakura to hear. The woman was hearing with her given eardrums that her only Geisha was now selling her purity to the public to pay for Ino's doctor then take off together into the winter storm. Mother's mind went over how much _money _Sakura's body was worth and how people from all over could travel through the godforsaken storm to touch her...to take what Sakura has left of her childhood since her own parents sold her, now Sakura will sell herself once more to save the life one more time. A smile lingered onto her chapped lips as she eyed over Sakura's tempting body... how wonderful it would be to finally see how men will throw money at her just to _taste _Sakura.

"Well...I will send the message to the village about the auction."

"Thank you, Mother."

=xxx=

Uchiha Sasuke wandered by the mountainside of Sakura's okiya. Looking around the wooden walls of the paper windows to finds the scent of his beloved; smelling the strong scent of Sakura's feminine body easily drawed him to the proper window of the girl's head against the candle's lights. He remembered her request of reading her the notes he had written for her baskets, having the idea to hide from his noisy clan members to spend time with her... His mother approved of his absense but warned him that he will be locked out until his own father invited him back inside, a typical vampire punishment for a lovestrucked prince.

"Sakura..." Sasuke called out quietly, using his perfect voice to only reach her ears.

Sakura's shadow jumped as she slid open the window to find him standing there like there was no cold surrounding him, jumping up and gripped the windowsill to catch her lips, making her bite back her squeal as she kissed him back just as eagerly and tried to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him in. He pulled back before his head could cross the windowsill.

"Sasuke-kun..?" Sakura was bothered by how he didn't come into her warming room.

"A vampire can not enter a home without an invitation," Sasuke whispered with a smirk and his eyes sparking with a child's play. "It is the vampire's polite way."

Sakura smiled toothly as she hugged close to him. "Come in, Sasuke-kun!" She whispered into his ear as he leapt into his lover's room, closing the window to shield out the winter's wind and buried his nose in her hair, smelling her loose braided locks of sweet oils and her natural scent. "Sasuke-kun...the bid will be tomorrow."

Sasuke frozed at the sudden announcment Sakura had made. Slowly, quiet enough not to scare her, he took hold of her face in his warm hands and looked into her eyes; reading how Sakura's jade eyes were doing their best not to show her fear of what was to come. "Why?"

Her gaze left his black eyes as she looked over to her futon bedding, which was covered with all the furs and quilts she could dig out of her basket, to see Ino's pale head sticking out with her eyes closed shut. Her face was white as milk and her lips were clammy and ill-looking; her chopped hair was wet with sweat and uncomfortable for her sore head as she shivered in her sleep. Sasuke could hear her breathing and heartbeat were irregular and short, despite Sakura's human ears she stiffened in his arms when Ino inhaled thickly.

"She is sick and I can not get Mother to pay for her doctor... I had no choice, Sasuke-kun," Sakura sobbed tearlessly as his large hand held her head to his chest.

"Don't worry... I will bid with all I have to make sure I get you, Sakura," Sasuke whispered into her hair, kissing her temple as she closed her eyes tightly. "You will get Ino her doctor, I promise with my life."

He held her close and comforted her in the best way he could without scaring her for what was coming to be within the next hours of her reality; holding her close and listened to her heartbeat that pumped her pretty blood through her soft body. He had not have a sip of blood since the departure of the last village, but made no move to feed on anyone...not even Sakura who he knew would give him a simple pint. He just stayed there until the sound of a gong echoed through the districts to signal of a bidding.

Kissing Sakura's soft lips hungrily, Sasuke gave a long embrace to assure how much she mattered to the vampire. He knelt his head down to scrape his teeth along her flower-stem neck and kiss the light scratch marks he gave to the Geisha woman.

"I love you, Sakura," he whispered to her, kissing her ear soothingly that made her eyes flutter closed. "I have to go and bid now... Try to rest, okay?" He felt her head nodding gently as she buried her face into his cloak and whispered the same affectionate comment to him. He disappeared in a small gust of wind that felt like warm spring breeze as she shakingly sat on the ground and crawled over to Ino's slumbering body.

"Ino...you're going to be alright," Sakura sobbed softly as she pressed soft rabbit fur to Ino's shivering cheek, placing a gentle peck on her sweating forehead. "I won't let you die..."

Sasuke entered the lit housing, filled with many men of all ages and languages that Sasuke felt his anger grow muderous in his skin; pressuring him to kill everyone and take his soulmate far away...but his father's warning of such violence over something so fragile was not worth the fight against the human race, that they still secretly live side-by-side. He made his way to the front of the crowd and found Sakura's Mother sitting professionally on a satin cushion next to the elders Sakura would share comedy stories with at the bar; Mother's smile was displeasing to Sasuke as she tried to make conversation with the elderly man who had a deep frown on his wrinkling face.

The elderly man caught a gaze with the youngest Uchiha heir, suddenly have his eyes sparkle a hint of hope as he would watch the young Geisha warm up to the costumer of her age. He gave out his silent plea of winning this bet of the sweetheart girl who he watched grow up from her first time entertaining his friends and wife. Sasuke gave a single nod in response and set his place firmly in front.

Mother waved her fan to signal all the males in the room to silence as she begin to spoke in a very pleased voice. "I am here to bid the only living flower of the Land of Season's most coldest winter; the only kind that will never wilt or shed a petal, so pure and ready to make her first stand as a grown woman... Daughter Sakura is now being bid for her beautiful body of a pleasurable night."

The elder Sasuke made contact with stood up with his back straightened. "Raise your right palm to claim a bid of a hundred. The winner of the bid will be the last hand up."

Then the bidding began.

=xxx=

AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE-... So who the hell won the bid? o-o *goes and reads next chapter and hurries to finish it!* BE BACK, FOLKS!


	8. Chapter 8

... How about Kitty hushes and lets the readers find out what happened to Sakura? ewe She will quickly state that she appreciates all that her readers do for her when it's Review, Follow, Favorite or just reading on her underrated vampire fanfic xD She loves all of youz!

REPLIES TO REVIEWS OF PREVIOUS CHAPTER (that need answers)-

Satire and Prose- First, I would like to properly thank you for taking time out of your day to look at this fanfiction C; It really does mean a lot to me that someone would even take a glimpse of the description, so thank you very much. Second, I must be honest that I am not the biggest fan of this piece I am currently writing (although it seems _so _hard for me to stop!) Romantic vampires are difficult for me to accept as well...all vampire stories are difficult for me nowdays since _Twilight _ruined it for the generation. I struggle most with this story to keep it in the right place and trying hard from jumping to place to place (I thank you most for pointing it out to me, I was actually hoping someone would point that out.) I will have to make an excuse for it of foreshadowing and character development, but please do point out as many things that seem offhand for the story; I enjoy it to a limit. My biggest struggle with this story in general is just keeping it focused on the main plot that will soon be revealed in future chapters. I thank you very much for your review and I am happy that you are excited, as much as I am, to see how this story will plan out. I wish you a very good day and hope you will enjoy this chapter!

Strawberrys000- Oh, hi there, Strawberry! ;D Welcome to Wilting Roses. xD Enjoy your time and have a good day, alright?

Kitty gets fuzzbally with anything that makes you happy, just to let you know C:

=xxx=

Wilting Roses

Chapter Eight- A Life Lost

Sakura was sleeping on the wooden floor when Sasuke returned hours later. Taking the sight he saw on Sakura's sleeping face, he couldn't help but reach his hand over and touch her hair, startling her awake in a instant.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura rubbed her eye as she sat up to have his arms wrap around her body.

"I won the bid...the elder will be coming over shortly with the Mother to tell you," Sasuke whispered softly, minding the little girl under the furs began to stir and roll over. "I will be waiting at my inn suite for you."

"Oh!" Sakura hummed with joy. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and pulled him down into a deep kiss, hugging him tightly as he laughed against her lips; trying so hard to keep her still as she tried to tackle him down.

Sasuke was the one to stop Sakura from hurting herself as she tried to keep him there, gently setting her back on the floor and held her face. "I promised everything will be alright, Sakura... now Ino will get her doctor and you can come with me."

"I'm so happy, Sasuke-kun," Sakura whispered with tiny tears falling from her eyes as she kissed his cheek repeatedly. She felt his vibrating chuckle as she buried her face into his neck, softly giving love bites on his cool skin. Sakura wanted nothing more then to have him hold her close and show Mother the truth behind it all...

"I will be waiting, Sakura," Sasuke said as he looked towards her door, slowly touching her long hair and let out a pleasurable purr. With that, he was gone after kissing her head one last time and then was gone.

The shouji door opened with a quick slide as Mother strode in like she was at her job. "Sakura, my darling little Geisha! You have made history in the bidding of yourself!" she shrieked with joy as the elder walked in behind her. "A very, very rich man has bought you for tonight!"

Sakura was quick to hush sweet words to Ino, who whimpered in her sleep at the sudden yelling of Mother's voice. Being pulled back by Mother's firm grip as she was shoved at the elder who greeted Sakura quietly. She bowed her head silently in hello as the elder began to unroll the scroll of the polls, showing it with interested to the young Geisha.

"You see the tallies, my child?"

"Um."

"Every tally is for the hundred of payment in all from the men who came tonight, you have made more money then any Geisha I have ever assisted in bidding for." The elderly man gave the amount of tally that was recieved, making Sakura's heart skip a beat at the results. She saw kanji written in big letters as she saw the scribbles of the name who won the bid. "I think you will find this man... alright."

"What is his_ name?" _Sakura asked softly with a sparkle in her eyes. Just hearing Sasuke's name made the event more exciting.

"Kabuto."

"...What?" Sakura looked as if she has misheard him, watching as the elder repeated the name. Kabuto.

"A very handsome man, I might say," Mother purred darkly. "Yes, he came over right after the bidding was done and purposed _three times _more the the original winner! Ha, I am so proud of my Geisha." She, as the first time in Sakura's career, touched her face and smiled at her. "He is expecting you right away!"

Sakura stood with a blank expression. Unable to look over at Mother's shining eyes_, _Sakura slumped her way to the floor as she looked at Ino's blonde hair. Sasuke told her that he won the bidding and now...Sasuke was second for the one named Kabuto has bought her purity for tonight.

"Come on, darling! I have your white robe ready for tonight." Mother pulled out Sakura's brightest kimono, all white and sparkling with silk material that was purposely made for this event of Sakura's _special _night; the one where she will finally save Ino with her illness and leave the okiya with her.

The elderly man left the room, closing the door as Mother began forcing the clothes off of her. His baldness reflected against the lantern's light as he watched his own feet move his way to the front enterance, his eyes dimmed and sad for his most desperate prayer to the gods for Sasuke to win: to take Sakura in good hands and make her well cared for the rest of her life. Wishing to lay a hand on Mother for taking the late bidder's offer and ruin his plan to get Sakura out of her hell.

"I am so sorry, my child..."

=xxx=

Mother walked ahead of Sakura by only a few steps, holding the umbrella to keep the snow off of Sakura's body as she followed without her furs. She was shivering in the white silked robe; walking in her boots as she wrapped her arms around her as her teeth chattered. Mother commanded for the Daughter to go without her warming furs since she saw Ino 'spread her diseases' onto them, as punishment for Sakura as she made her way to...the bidder's inn house. The man didn't live that far away, as Sakura noticed, but his residence was out in the middle of nowhere and had no actual lights to lead them. It was Mother who took the job of guiding the virgin to the house where her white robe will be changed to a red silk he had waiting for her.

"This man is someone I knew, so you shall be taken care of," Mother said in a flat voice, making Sakura's head shoot up when she first spoke. "You will do whatever Kabuto-sama says, no matter how odd it sounds. Do you understand me, Sakura? You mustn't _fail _in the presence of this man."

Sakura did not know much about how to phyisically please a man, nor did she know what she was actually suppose to do; but the sound of Mother's voice...scared Sakura to the extreme as she met the pace next to the woman who raised her. She saw in her eyes that there was nothing to be seen, nor could Sakura look deep enough without Mother snapping at her. Mother's face was as blank as white, unable to show anymore joy then when she was dressing Sakura an hour prior; unable to hold her shrieks and cheerful yells while Ino was being disturbed in her sleeping state. Poor Sakura tried to have Mother hold it all in with no luck.

"I understand, Mother," Sakura replied in a low voice. "May I ask... Who won the bid before Kabuto bought over?"

"That is none of your concern, my dear. Kabuto is a much better fit compared to the last person," Mother grunted when she opened the wooden gate that held a lit home, Kabuto's current residence. "Kabuto has promised me that he will keep my okiya running for _years _after this." She pulled Sakura ahead of her as she nearly slammed into the wooden post that held the lantern for the porch's only light. Mother was quick to walk up to the shouji door and ring the bell that signaled anyone inside that there was company over. "Stand up straight, Sakura!" Mother hissed sharply as she pulled the pink haired girl and pushed her spine straight, gripping her braided hair back to have her chin up high.

The door slid opened to show a young woman dressed in pure black. She looked at Mother's still face before drifting her gaze over to see Sakura's light hair, suddenly having her slit eyes widen at the sight of the young girl. Her lip trembled slightly as she bowed her head low and beckoned the two women to come inside, pulling on both of their sleeves and quickly shutting the cold out. Sakura noticed how incredibly warm it was inside the paper house; how very normal it looked inside and out, like the Kabuto man had the kind of money to triple Sasuke's offer? Sakura may not be able to read, but she can sure count all the tallies and times them by two if she was told to.

"Go with her, Sakura," Mother pushed Sakura lightly towards the servant's waiting arms, watching as the girl whimpered at the servant's tight grip as she was yanked down the dark hallway. Mother's boots were kicked off silently as she was lead by another servant who appeared out of nowhere to the waiting room.

Sakura was pained by the servant's strong grip. Even for a weak looking woman, the servant proved worthy of possessing great strength compared to the strongest man Sakura has ever known. She was quick with her steps and nearly tripped a few times as Sakura was shown no hospitality when the woman slid opened a door at the end of the hallway and literally thrown into the room, shutting it behind Sakura's back to make her head snap.

"Uh!" Sakura struggled to speak as she tried to go to the door, just to ask the servant woman for a cup of tea to warm up quicker.

"So this is _Sakura..."_

Sakura had shivers sent up her back as she heard the silky voice singing her name like a sin. Slowly turning around, Sakura saw a shadowing male sitting on the darker end of the bedroom; hair silvery as an elder's aging hair and spectacles that glistened against the candlelight, covering his coal eyes that was staring _deeply _into Sakura's jade emeralds in a very uncomfortable way.

"You are truly a sight for even the blindest man, my dear child," Kabuto's voice snaked across the room to Sakura's ears, making her shiver a little in the shoulders as he chuckled at her reaction. "You do not need to fear me... I simply sealed the deal and will take good care of you." He stood up from his cushion and stood barefoot on the weaved rug.

"U-uh..." Sakura was quick to bow her head as low as she could. "A-arigato, Kabuto...-sama, for purchasing at such short notice."

"It was not a bad deal," Kabuto said in a even tone. "Let me say that Mother owed me for something years ago."

Sakura didn't reply to that, not even as Kabuto began taking large steps towards her shaking body. He reached out his tanned hand and touched Sakura's locks, tangling them in his fingers as he stared in awe at the lovely shine it brought to the room.

"You have...lovely hair, Sakura-_chan," _Kabuto's voice made Sakura's heart skip a beat in agony. "What a luck for a man like myself to be allowed to touch them."

"T-thank you..." Sakura said sadly. "I must honor this time as I stand infront fo the man who is going to save my dear friend and myself..."

"Aa, I have heard of this friend of yours'," Kabuto nodded very slowly, tracing his fingertips to Sakura's soft shoulders, pressing down on the silky fabric to feel how truly _soft _the woman's skin was to the touch. "She is gravely ill and you have took the time to bid your body to pay for a doctor, am I right?"

"Hai, Kabuto-sama," Sakura said as she stared off into space, when her eyes were angled at Kabuto's tall body. She felt the numbing touch of his fingers touch the exposed skin of her neck. "This will save her life and I will take her far away from here."

Kabuto's lips twitched upwards as he circled his fingers on her pulse. "Tell me, Sakura-chan...what are you looking for after this night is done?"

Sakura closed her eyes as a single tear fell, dripping down her cheek. Kabuto leaned down and let his tongue lick the salty drop off of her smooth skin, purring contently as Sakura opened her lips to speak. "I want to...live a perfect life with the man that I love. Have a happy ending and know that Ino is safe... I wish to have children and be a mother."

"What if," Kabuto started while licking up Sakura's cheekbone, sending shivers of fear throughout her body, "you could live forever with the man you love? Would that make it even better for you, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura kept her eyes closed as she sobbed. How wonderful would it be to be in Sasuke's arms forever and have him love her whole body and soul with no end, even adding in to never growing old and have children? It was a equation for perfection in Sakura's mind as she thought outloud of her opinion. "That would be..._amazing, _Kabuto-sama."

"What if," Kabuto purred into her little ear as his fingers traced down to her cleavage, slipping into the fabric as he kept talking, "I could make that possible for you tonight, Sakura-chan?"

"I don't know..." Sakura lightly sighed, pretending that it was Sasuke here touching her skin that she felt she saved her whole life for him; just wishing it was Sasuke here and now to strip the frozen silk off of her body and have his way all night and even until daybreak if Sakura could handle it. "I do not think it is possible..."

"But it is possible, Sakura-chan," Kabuto nipped her cheek sharply, biting with _sharp _teeth as the fingers inside Sakura's robe pulled the material apart. The silky white robe fell to the floor as Sakura let out a shy gasp, throwing her hands to cover her chest and limbs pressing together hard. Watching her eyes shut tigher, Kabuto's smile grew, letting the candle shine on his fangs. "I can make it last for all eternity if you do just one simple thing for me."

Sakura swallowed thickly, feeling like the man was going to take her most valuable possession on her at any second now, she bowed her head in the internal shame that lingered in her mind as thick as mist. "Anything you wish...Kabuto-sama."

"The only thing I wish from a god's gift like you, Sakura-chan, is the most simplest thing I could ask for..."

A sharp pain ripped through Sakura's chest as her eyes snapped open wide, feeling the stretching muscle and tearing tissue rip throughout her chest and ribs. She let out a stifled scream as Kabuto's hard mouth smashed onto her lips, thrusting his tongue inside her mouth as he sucked out the blood that sprout up her throat. Sakura's eyes tore down the see a swords handle sticking out of Sakura's body, being held firmly by Kabuto's free hand that once tore her robe off in such a graceful manner. She gagged more red liquid as Kabuto pulled his lips away from hers slowly, having a string of blood stretch from the connected holes.

The grey haired man licked his lips pleasurably, his eyes nearly rolling the the back of his head in heavy lust as he twisted the sword that was embedded in Sakura's gut. "It has been so long since I have touched a woman's flesh..."

Sakura's body was starting to go numb as her hot blood dripped down her bare skin, hitting the floor like raindrops during a thunderstorm, making loud 'pat pat pat' noises as they made contact with Sakura's stenchy blood.

"...and your blood smells _so _sweet to my senses. I can't hold it in much longer..."

Sakura opened her mouth to cry out for help, but a mouthful of blood was the only language she could speak.

"...I know Orochimaru-sama said to make more...helpers. But I could not resist the chance of _tasting _a virgin again..."

Her eyes closed sickly, her head was giving out. She wanted Sasuke's hand to hold her cheeks like he would to keep her face warm.

"I thank you Sakura..."

Her legs felt no use to her anymore as she slumped down with the katana sticking out of her back.

"...for agreeing with my wishes..."

Her mouth hung open as more and more blood spilled out with no end. She was talking with blood as she cried out for Sasuke. Her Sasuke-kun...

"...of allowing my curse to fufill for soul and body..."

She felt his hands grip her hips sharply, letting a weak cry escape through her nose.

"...and letting me take what Sasuke shall never have."

Her world was going black.

"Here me, oh Devil, as I summon your duty as slave..."

She could barely hear but felt the painful thrusts in her lower body.

"...as I claim another mortal's shell to show my pride, to be in my control when the spell is complete..."

She still pretended that it was Sasuke touching every part of her body with the sharp pain in her neck and abdomen. Sasuke, the man who she would _obey _with her mind and body. She wanted Sasuke to touch her bare skin...take what is meant to be his and his alone! She pretended it was Sasuke in her...Sasuke causing the pain as she felt her whole world go black.

"Let the scar of a cursed vampire be under the control of the man in her..!"

_Sasuke-kun... Sasuke-kun... Sasuke-kun..._

_Sasuke-kun..._

_Sasuke-kun..._

_Sasu..._

The servant that threw Sakura inside the room was waiting outside the door as she heard Kabuto's low grunts and the sound of human skin scratching against the straw-rug. Her face was as expressionless as she was when she opened to door for Mother and Sakura, standing just as if nothing was going on the other side, she stared straight at the wall to wait for her master's next order. She was taught the hard way of what would happen if she left her post...

After a few more breaths of Kabuto's current plan, she heard him stop and slide something out of somewhere, she didn't think of what and heard him stand contently as he redressed himself. She turned around and found Kabuto opening the door for himself, looking at him with emotionless eyes as Kabuto cracked his neck in a stretching yoga pace.

"Shall I clean the room, Kabuto-sama?" the loyal slave asked in a blank voice.

"No. Just leave her in there and help me get rid of the annoying woman in the waiting room," Kabuto snarled with his canines exposed. "Orochimaru-sama has wanted that bratty-lady dead for months."

The servant eyed Kabuto's fist holding long locks of pink hair in his tight grip, watching as his fingers rubbed on the strands graciously as he forced his way passed her, letting her see the scene of the crime of the dead corpse that laid sprawled on the floor: her chest area where the heart should be was stabbed opened, spilling drying blood all over the room she had cleaned yesterday. Inbetween her legs, was pushed opened...with blood dripping out in a slow pace, sinking into the rug as she slowly closed the door. She heard no heartbeat coming from the dead girl, nor the fact that her scent was dying out in the stench of blood that flew in the breeze of the opened window Kabuto has slide opened to dry the blood quicker. She didn't see the dead girl's face expression of her closed eyes, looking like she was dreaming a sad dream of losing something so precious.

=xxx=

Sakura slowly opened her eyes. Her head hurt horribly as she felt her body feeling so _cold _and naked. She shut her eyes quickly when she winced sharply at the pain in her chest and inbetween her legs, wishing to have her furs and snuggle against Ino's sleeping form for warmth; she weakly rolled over on a sticky surface and propped herself onto her elbows.

She opened her eyes to see that she was still in Kabuto's room, thanks to her barely visible eyesight, she noticed Kabuto's cushion she first met him on and her white robe laying in the distance on the other side of the room, under the winter's shining sun and glittering to Sakura's eyes.

"Sunlight..." how much Sakura wanted to see the sun as an omen from the gods, giving her the message that her nightmares are all over. She crawled her way to the edge of the unlit room and looked sweetly at her white robe, being warmed in the sunlight and just asking her to take it and use it as a blanket. She slowly reached over and let her fingers touch the yellow sunlight-

A flash of light burst on Sakura's fingertips, sending a jolting sharp pain throughout her whole arm and sending down her body as she yanked her hand away. She cried out in a eerie screech as she watched her fingers burn to a black color and spilling a light ribbon of smoke of her burn. Tears swelled into her eyes as she pushed herself as far away as possible from the sunspot, shrieking like a banshee as she crawled to the darkest place she could find in the room: the opened closet.

She watched as her blood-stained fingers touched the burned skin, feeling no pain at all as her nail scraped along the black spots. What was wrong with her? Why did her skin react like that to the sun she has prayed to come for so long? She noticed that her skin was still pale from walking in the freezing snow last night, wondering why the icy tone hasn't disappeared if her body heat was suppose to return.

A cracked mirror caught the corner of Sakura's eyes as she slowly turned her skull to look at herself. Her hair was not long anymore but rather a chopped unevenly in waves up to her chin; her eyes looked tired as her jade hues were now black beads and not a single spot of white could be seen. She looked like a monster even more as her jaw dropped in shock to show that every tooth in her mouth was sharpened to a razor point...

Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs.

Sasuke's head snapped from the cold ground as he heard the echo of a high-pitched scream outside of the inn. He had waited for Sakura all night and didn't shut his eyes once to rest unless his beloved came for their special time that he had to bid for against hundreds of unworthy men. His mother and father always came out every hour to check on him and tried to persuade him to come inside; refusing to meet his parents' request and standing still on the porch is what he did alright. But the first time he actually moved was when the scream reached his keen ears, noticing the tune that reminded him oddly of Sakura's high-pitched giggles. He turned his head south to where the source of the voice came from and began walking at an inhuman speed towards the destinated area. In the air: dried and faint blood, to be exact for the Uchiha. Possibly hours upon hours old of a female human who was accidentally slain? No, it couldn't be because Sasuke could hear sources of a female breathing inside the house...crying loudly and something smashing of glass.

The scent of the faint blood got stronger as his black eyes slowly realized who it was. Bursting into his vampire speed, he burst into the room to find gallons of blood spilled all over the floor, the scent of his Sakura still lingered fresh of her body and skin, but her blood was long gone. His head snapped to the darkest area of the room and saw a leg sticking out from the shouji door of a closet; quickly with his moves, he grabbed the ankle hard and pulled the body out.

Sakura was naked before his eyes, her face read fear of anything that may have come her way would send her into a frenzy if he wasn't careful. Her once beautiful eyes were now beads of black balls that stared into the deepest pit of the Uchiha's soul, showing him how unable she was to listen. Her lips trembled hard as little razors poked her bottom lip and her cheeks hallowing in starvation, of _thirst. _Her long locks were no more now of only chopped waves that shaped her face perfectly, in his opinion.

"Sakura..." his voice was so low, a human couldn't hear. But Sakura's shoulders hunched as she heard and knew the voice who called her name.

"Sasuke-kun..!" Her normal voice was tuned into a ghosty-mist, sending even Sasuke shivers. "Wh-...what...?"

He knew the stories of curses that would be placed on mortals. Witches back then would try and take vampire's meals by turning human blood into black goo that tastes horribly to their tongue, causing the vampire to starve and go into a hunger-frenzy, trying to kill whatever has blood pumping into their body. Sasuke has also heard stories of _vampires _being able to perform witchcraft _curses _upon all species... There was once a great Pureblood vampire that had a male companion being capable of performing such tasks, but he was told that both of them were killed in the times of Ancient Greek. Surely, as Sasuke tried hard to prove it, they didn't make it into the Japanese era of Geishas, using innocent women to take their bodies into their own slavery.

His Sakura.

His.

The Sakura Sasuke swore to himself he would protect, claim her body and soul, to take her struggles in life and change her himself into a Pureblood!

Sasuke slowly leaned in and took the injured hand of his blossom, hearing her whimpers to cause his stress to escalate even higher. "Don't worry, Sakura...I'm here now." He gently touched the black fingertips before sticking them into his hot mouth, sucking on the burned skin and licking with his soothing tongue.

"Sa-...Sasuke-kun..." Sakura whispered as she watched Sasuke lick her fingers, slowly noticing how the burnt layer of the skin was peeling off by Sasuke's licks. Her eyes drooped tiredly as she tried to find more warmth within the man she cried for on her dying breath. "Sasuke-kun...Sasuke-kun...Sasuke-kun..."

He grunt to let her know that he was _there. _That he was the one healing her burn and watching her every move, unable to hold in his true emotions of fear for Sakura's...curse. He trailed his eyes down to her chest to see a large scar lingering on her pale skin. The color of peaches as the shape took fold of a biblical star, the one that the Three Wise Men would've followed to their path to their Savior... This particular scar did not serve as a guide to Sakura's Savior, but to an eternal damnination that was all caused because Sasuke...he didn't protect Sakura's mortality. He noticed, now as he saw more of her bare skin, that she was too young to be a Changed vampire. Of course, these were not the eyes of a Changed vampire.

So what is Sakura?

"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura's voice dried to the cracks of her throat, coughing softly as she wished she had water. "Sasuke-kun..."

Sasuke's hair covered his eyes as he slowly pulled her fingers out of his mouth; Sakura saw how the burnt layers were no longer there but had a peeled-looking color to the icy pale skintone she now had. Sakura's lip quivered as she held her hands to her chest, sobbing silently as the pain in her throat began to burn hotter. His large hands slowly reached for the back of Sakura's chopped locks, pulling her quickly to shove her face into his neck, keeping a very tight grip on her so she didn't more away from him.

"S-Sasu-" Sakura tried to say his name, her eyes dropping again.

"Drink."

Sakura made a whimper of confusion, feeling Sasuke's fingers tace up her spine slowly and cause her to shiver pleasurably, yet still in pain. She licked her own lips before pressing them to his pulse, feeling the strong heartbeat as she kissed his skin...opening her mouth and slowly sinking all of her razor-sharp teeth into his dense skin. She felt him jerk in pain, but could _not pull away! _The feeling of this hot liquid hitting her tongue caused her to moan and began _drinking his blood._

"Sakura..." he whispered against her ear as she continued to drink all the blood that was taken out of her body, suddenly smiling at the thought that Sakura was capable of drinking blood like a normal vampire; kissing her earlobe gently as she gasped, letting go of his skin and panting for air. "You will be okay..."

He pulled his winter cloak off of his shoulders and wrapped Sakura snugly around her torso, like a towel or a strapless dress that will be shown in our present time. She kept her hands on her chest as Sasuke pulled her into his arms, holding her as close as he could before standing up with ease. His eyes bled the color of crimson as he faced the presence of the sunlight inside the room, bracing himself for incredible pains of burns as he would push himself at inhuman speed to take Sakura _home._

=xxx=

Mikoto sensed her youngest son bursting into his inn room, suddenly snapping her pretty head up as Fugaku and the other members of her clan that was present currently as they heard the same deal; jumping to her feet, she scurried to her son's occupied room and slide the door open to find him pushing himself and a unknown body against the corner of the bedroom, growling fiercely at his mother's presence and hearing sobs of a female.

"Sasuke?" Mikoto said carefully, hearing his son grunt and growl louder in reply. "Sasuke...who do you have there?"

Sasuke didn't answer with words, but shoved his body against the smaller one, earning another whimper from the hiding face as she gripped to Sasuke's black hair as if she was trying to find him. His shoulders heaved up and down as he was heaving for oxygen. His mother, as always the one who worries for any soul, ran over and pulled her son away from the corner with her dominant strength, seeing that his face was covered with dark burns and bleeding out of cuts that was caused by the sun's rays.

"Sasuke!" Mikoto gasped as she turned to find a young woman's body laying weakly against the wall. Not hearing a single heartbeat but heard the breaths entering the lungs as Mikoto realized it was the Geisha woman she would like to hear during her time at the bar. Her once pretty tresses were now chopped short to her doll-like chin, dripping from the lips of Sasuke's blood as she called out to him blindly with thirst. "...what happened?"

=xxx=

AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE- Next chapter will deal with the present time of Sakura and Hinata C: All done with SasuSakuness background story for y'all! I apologise if it is sorta short, but I have been very busy with schooling and work...and now I would like to announce that two new stories will be released sometime before the American Thanksgiving; one is another AU NaruHina (for those who like Wilting Roses' difficult relationship development) and the other is an AU SasuSaku (for those who have checked out my other story, Sing To Me, Baby, and would like something more fierce and mindstruggling). I do not know when I will next update, but I do promise that it will be soon C; Please enjoy yourselves until then, dear readers!


	9. Chapter 9

... I have come very far with this fanfiction O: I am quite proud of myself for how much effort I try to put into each story for all you readers. But, truth be told, it is all thanks to all of you C: Because of every one of you who take a look into this story, it gave me more and more confidence into writing more chapters. I would like to thank all of you who have come this far with me and still encourage me to update soon, which I shall because I don't give up easily! I am very thankful for everyone who reads this and let me know how they truly feel for each chapter that they read. Thank you all who have done whatever they wish to make their day as they made mine! Kitty is just a happy fuzzball with all you have done!

REPLIES TO REVIEWS (that needs Kitty's answers)-

harusaki-tsukiko- Thank you very much for the two Reviews, dear! ;D (it's okay if you made an oopsy, I don't mind it. I love hearing from you!) I hope you will enjoy this chapter and will have a very nice day until my next update ;3 I will have to say that I will not be putting up a sneek peek of my two new stories, so I'm afraid you will have to wait until next month. I have been busy with schooling and work, so adding on acceptable sneek peeks -in my opinion- takes a little more into my hands ;w; I'm sorry, but I hope you will understand!

Reminder to readers that the SasuSakuness background has officially been cut off. The story will now take place back to the present time with Hinata and Naruto! Although flashbacks will still be presented as foreshadowing effects that will be important later on to the story. Enjoy the chapters!

Remember...do what Kitty likes to be a happy fuzzball on whatever makes you a happy person! Kitty likes happy stuff happen to nice readers like you! ;3

=xxx=

Wilting Roses

Chapter Nine- A Secret Till Death

**Unknown Date, 24 Hours After Sakura's 'Death'**

_Sakura was laying on the stiff futon bedding as the woman she reconized as Mikoto and three other women hovered over her, pulling Sasuke's warm winter cloak off of her pale features and felt their hot hands press on places of her skin. She made a discomfort noise through her nose when one of the hands literally clawed with their nails on her arm, just testing the density of her skin._

_"Mikoto-sama...her cuts are healing as I scratch her," a female voice echoed in the dark room. Sakura's eyes graced their way over to look at Mikoto's concerned face. "She heals on her own without the need of blood or shadows."_

_"Her eyes change, too," another voice spoke in turn. "They go black as night and you can't see her whites... Her teeth also sharpen besides her canines when she starves."_

_"She is cursed," Mikoto concluded in a soft voice, pressing her palms on Sakura's cheek as she looked down at the frightened girl. "Sakura, my dear...there is one more thing I must check. Can you promise not to fight back?"_

_"Um..." Sakura whimpered lightly, holding Mikoto's hand to her face, greeding into the warmth she prayed for and closed her eyes. How much she wanted Sasuke in the room with her and hold her hand. She felt her calf being pulled up by one of the women's hands and a sudden feeling inbetween her legs. Her eyes shot open as she screamed out in fear, flashes of what was once there in her body caused Kabuto's face in her eyes as she cried out for someone she could only want right now._

_"SASUKE-KUN! SASUKE-KUN!"_

_"Hush, hush..." Mikoto whispered, waving her free hand to the other women to continue their search. "There is no reason to cry, Sakura..."_

_"SASUKE-KUN! SASUKE-KUUUN!" Sakura cried out louder in a ghostly voice, the sound of the winter's wind tune as clawed at the wooden floors, leaving indents into the wood._

_The called Uchiha was being held down by many numbers of the Nara and Uchiha Clan, piling ontop of him as he shoved them as best as he could. He was cursing on each lives that bothered to hide him away from the room Sakura was being examined in by his mother. He trusted his mother, sure enough, but the voice of Sakura's scream sent him into a phase of anger and wishing to be by her side. His father was holding his skull down as he screamed both in anger and in pain of the sunburns that was healing slowly by Itachi's given blood..._

_The door slid open, having every head turn to see Mikoto being followed by the two members that assisted with her, her face was sad and fearful for what she had to say to the members of the Nara and Uchiha. Sasuke's head snapped up to wheeze air as he looked at his mother with crimson eyes._

_"She is...cursed," Mikoto said very slowly. "Her skin is able to heal any wounds that would prove lethal to our kind and her eyes and teeth will be displayed differently and very...frightening. She is also much stronger then Purebloods as she nearly ripped my arm off," she smiled a little at this, not looking up until Sasuke made another growl, knowing that his mother knew something else._

_"Sasuke..." Mikoto met her youngest son's eyes with a serious expression, "someone has...took Sakura's purity and..."_

_Sasuke sat up more as more members got off of him, wishing that his mother would hurry and tell him what was wrong with Sakura. His Sakura. His. His!_

_"Your soulmate...is cursed...and steril," Mikoto breathed as Sasuke sped past her body in a inhuman speed into the room, the door slamming shut behind her as her assistance scurried to their own families and mourn for the Uchiha prince's misfortune._

_"Mikoto," Fugaku rose from his knees, "is there no cure for the sterilization?"_

_"Unless we find a witch to reverse the curse, there if nothing I can do with Sakura... We might as well believe our youngest son will not have children like he had dreamed," Mikoto closed he eyes and Fugaku wrapped his strong arms to hold his wife. "I hope our son will not be so sad."_

_Uchiha Sasuke fell to his knees by Sakura's bedside, eyeing how Sakura was covered with rare fur of Mikoto's blanket that covered her bloodstained body. Her shoulders shaked little as she sniffled with her eyes closed. He didn't say another word as his large hand reached out slowly and touched her cheek. Her eyes opened slowly and met his crimson eyes that swirled three commas as he looked at her with a gentle expression._

_"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura parted her lips, "why do your eyes do that..?"_

_"I am...upset," Sasuke answered in a low voice, yet his tone was as soft as Sakura heard from their first kiss. "You have been hurt and...broken."_

_"I can not have children...I am sorry, Sasuke-kun. I have failed..."_

_"No, you did not fail me, Sakura... It was never your fault," Sasuke knelt lower, pressing his face against hers', nuzzling his nose against her cheek in a affectionate way that made Sakura shiver. "Do not be scared... I am not upset with you at all." His hand slowly slid under her furs and pressed against her bare chest, just wishing her heartbeat would come back at any moment to beat against his palm. "As long as you breathe and you are by my side...I can't ask for anything more from you."_

_Sakura closed her eyes and pressed her face against his, crying tears that soaked into his skin as he kissed her face gentle as possible. He knew Sakura's body can not take another touch in her secret places, no matter how long it would be, despite her steril form that is now eternally damned by a witch's curse and taken by that witch himself, be allowed for him only to touch like he would dream about. He would wait until Sakura is ready to make love, to know what it is like to be touched as if she was a rare gem and held in the arms of the man who loves her to death..._

_He would wait forever if he must._

=xxx=

Sakura set down her teacup as she saw Hinata's shoulders hunch, the sounds of her sobs filled the room as Sakura finished her story and was crying big fat tears. Unable to keep her own cup in her fingers, Hinata gripped tightly as her teardrops landed into her warm tea and began mixing with the relaxing herbs that was meant for her to drink.

"Hinata-chan?" Sakura pouted curiously with her head tilted to the side.

"H-how could...s-s-something so..._cruel _be d-d...done t-to _you?" _Hinata cried as she pushed her cup onto the table, gripping now to her skirt in balls of fists as she shook her head hard. "I-It is n-n-not _fair!"_

The broken vampire blinked slowly, scurring her kimono knees off of her cushion and took her place by Hinata's side. She flipped her covered sleeve to pull out her small hand and swipe a tear trail that lingered on the poor mortal's cheek. The warmth of Sakura's skin heated against Hinata's burning cheek as she cried out.

"Hinata-chan...it has been a very long time since I told my story for someone to cry this much," Sakura confessed in a sweet voice that drew her friend's attention in. "I thank you for your mourning of my mortal life...but that part of me died long ago, and now I live a different life alongside with Sasuke-kun." She leaned in at a human pace and placed a soft kiss on Hinata's temple. "Don't cry for something that can not be changed, but rather look at the best side of the curse, sweetie."

"Why should I?" Hinata snapped, her hands gripped to Sakura's shoulders as she looked into her sparkling emeralds. "Y-you cannot h-have children, S-S-Sakura-chan! For _centuries! _F-For so long you live with Sasuke and s-suffer the punishment of having no children?"

"It is true that I wish to have children with Sasuke-kun, after finally finding the one who took me away from my hell..." Sakura smiled beautifully that it made Hinata's breath hitch. "But I am more content in being with the man of my life and nothing more...if that is what to come of my body, I must live everyday with a smile. I love Sasuke-kun more then my own life and would do anything to try and change my own body for him."

"B-b-but-"

"Witchcraft is still practiced today and some vampires in distant lands have come across spells that would only return me to mortal...which would kill me," Sakura puckered her lips. "So, until then, Naruto is my baby boy."

"You raised N-Naruto-kun...after his parents were killed," Hinata whispered. "You even took in the little girl's life into your life and took care of her like your own d-daughter, too."

"Yes, Ino was like a child to me as well," Sakura agreed with a simple nod. "I still tell her that she is my little piglet that I found in the mud."

"I-Ino is alive?"

"As a vampire, yes. She survived her illness and was taken by Shikamaru and grew up with the Nara Clan," Sakura fixed her sleeve over her hand. "She has her hair grown very long and lived her mortal life as a very happy girl...Shikamaru took her as a soulmate when she reached the age of eighteen. They both got the emotion within their chest for each other."

"This emotion...it feels like a warm sensation?" Hinata asked as she pointed to her own chest. "Right here?"

Sakura nodded. "Back in the day, when most people did not marry out of love, it was very painful. Whenever you're near your destined soulmate, it becomes almost intolerable. I have reason to believe that you feel something like this around Naruto?"

Hinata's tear-stained face flushed to the deepest shade of red, darker then Sakura's maroon kimono as she fumbled with her fingers nervously. "U-uhm..."

Sakura smiled bigger as Hinata stuffed her mouth with cake. "Diz cake ish soooo gewd, S-Sakura-chan-!" Hinata started coughing on the cake crumbled that were locked in her throat.

"Don't choke on the cake, honey!"

=xxx=

Uchiha Sasuke held Naruto down onto the floor in the throneroom, keeping him locked in place as the blond man snarled at him and tried to wiggle out of his grip. He released him and leapt his way back to stand infront of his throne as the Uzumaki scrambled to his feet.

"I have taught you better, Naruto," Sasuke said in a cool voice as he licked his thumb. "Just because I raised you to fight does not mean you need to hold back on _me_." He took his seat back onto the glorious throne and crossed his legs like a true man.

"Sasuke..." Naruto growled softly, exhaling a brush of air. "Sasuke, why can't you tell me what happened years ago? What truly happened to the Uchiha family and why you hold so much mistrust with the humans? You said that they used to co-exist!"

"Because Dobe...it is something that does not need to be told," Sasuke said. "The events that took place with my family does not stand even with your rank."

"Fuck the ranks! Just tell me why humans and vampires don't co-exist anymore!" Naruto roared in the cemented room, unable to be heard by the two girls down the hallway. "You say that the humans lost trust in your kind, but what caused it to happen?"

"What happened...was humans losing trust in _us _for safety from the _wrong kind_."

"Teme...tell me!"

Sasuke closed his eyes, not minding if Naruto sought that time to try and jump at him for an attack, for he shoved his foot into Naruto's skull and slammed him to the ground. He smirked very little when the blond hissed with his face against the tiles. "If you want the truth of why I refuse to let humans into our lives...you should take a look at how movies portray us. They see us as killing creatures that would kill them and use their blood for our best purposes; take their women and children first and feed off of their flesh as we would make the men watch in horror before we kill them. Lets not forget how this generation think of us as _sparkling gentlemen," _Sasuke gritted through his teeth at the thought.

"But...Hinata is my soulmate, she wouldn't think things like that about us! She is our friend," Naruto defended. "She wouldn't hurt us at all."

"She might not...but she may have a mouth on her," Sasuke replied, making Naruto realize of all the little things that Hinata would do by accident and set their lives in danger. "We may live as mortals to blend in, but scientists will take us, disect us while he are awake, look for anything to put our kind down."

"I...understand, Sasuke," Naruto said in a low voice, his head slowly bowing to the man who raised him. "I will make sure Hinata does her best to be silent until the future..."

"Go and enjoy your time with Hyuuga for the day," Sasuke said in a surprising soft tone, making Naruto's head shoot up. "Mortals need their rests, remember? And curfews are commonly set for minors."

"Hai..." Naruto didn't look back as he dashed out of the room and shut the door behind him. Sasuke was left alone into the room to remember the time when he and Sakura were at peace with the world: when he would join others in activites, when he would publicly say how much he loved Sakura and how he used to _smile. _Yes, once in Sasuke's time, he used to smile and be happy with what he had around him. He smiled when he was joyous with the little things, such as nature's plants and little creatures he would chase with children; to smile at Sakura's little face when she would peek out of their bedroom to watch the other clan members live their days. He was once a very happy man...

_Sasuke let out a small playful growl emerge from his throat as he rolled over with Itachi rolling under him. He wrestled with his older brother by locking his arms around his leg and neck, pressing harder with his back to bury the vampire into the dirt._

_"Take that, Nii-san!" Sasuke growled before another member of the Uchiha Clan tackled ontop of all of them, sending both Uchihas across the forest floor and laughing joyously as she came in contact with the other group, which was the hunting party for the village they were making their way back to. "Hey, no cheating at the game!"_

_The man just shrugged his shoulders before taking off into the crowd of men, walking alongside with them as they hummed a religious tune fo their kind; a story of a ancient legend that promised a vampire any cure of their illness or death if they took a single sip of their tempting blood. Sasuke was pulled up with his brother's aid and dashed ahead of the group to burst into the boundary lines of the Uchiha Compound, which would serve as the Uchiha Mansion in our present time. He searched as fast as he could for a certain scent of a particular someone, finally finding it inside the main housing for the royal family; he dashed into the big housing and went to a designated room._

_He slowly slid the door shut as he came across Sakura's sleeping form on his side of the futon. Her face was at peace as she was curled into a small ball with her nose buried into his pillow, inhaling in her sleep to take in her newlywed husband's strong earthy scent. He smiled dreamily as he silently made his way over, dropping to his knees and tilt his head down to have his nose barely touch her cheek._

_He slowly licked her soft skin, causing the girl to stir from her slumber as he whispered into her ear. "I'm home, Sakura." He brushed his long fingers across her soft hair, admiring the moonlight from the window that made her hair glow beautifully._

_Sakura slowly opened her eyes and reached up to touch her lover's chin with her fingertips. "Welcome home, Sasuke-kun..." her voice was still soft and tired when she spoke, making Sasuke smile wide as he kissed her forehead. She let a little purr escape her lips as she rose to her elbows and pressed her lips against his, kissing him generously as he raked his fingers through her hair to bring her head closer. "I have missed you."_

_"Aa," Sasuke agreed as he laid his own body down and hugged Sakura closer to him, resting his head on the same pillow as her, pressing his forehead against hers softly. "Go back to sleep, Sakura. I won't be going anywhere for a long time."_

_Sakura obeyed him and closed her eyes with a smile still planted on her face. She snuggled herself closer to him, pressing her kimono cloth against his own clothes as she inhaled his fresh scent; she sighed deeply and fell asleep in matter of minutes. Sasuke smiled quietly as he pulled the covers over both of their bodies, hugging her while she slept in his arms..._

_Yes, Uchiha Sasuke was very happy at that moment._

Sasuke frowned deeper at the memory before..._it _happened on the Uchiha Clan's next hunt. He growled lowly and buried his face into his palm, biting his own skin and leaving a deep bitemark against himself, to shut himself up and forget it.

The door opened once more and Sasuke didn't bother to look up to see Sakura hurrying her way to Sasuke's body; leaping lightly as Sasuke held his arms out, ready to catch her. He wrapped his arms around her tiny waist as she snuggled her face against his, kissing lightly with her legs placing themselves on either side of his thighs and sat on his lap.

"Sasuke-kun, I am so happy," Sakura mewed as she cupped Sasuke's strong face in her little hands. "I am so happy that Naruto has found her and-... Sasuke-kun, what is wrong?" She eyed over to Sasuke's hand and pulled it to see his own bitemark within his palm. She looked back into his blank eyes with concern. "Sasuke-kun..."

"It is nothing to worry about, baby," Sasuke muttered under his breath, pressing his lips quickly to kiss her mouth before hiding his eyes under his bangs. "Did you have a fun time with Hyuuga?"

"Yes, I did," Sakura answered with a small smile, holding his injured hand in her palms and allowed her fingers to flicker the colors of green and blue onto his hand. She healed Sasuke's hand in the matter of minutes for her dear husband. "You should...be careful next time bad things come to your mind."

"Aa, but it was not a bad memory," Sasuke corrected quietly as he flexed his healed hand looked into Sakura's pretty eyes. "I am just...tired of telling Dobe that it is none of his damn business of what happened."

"But he should know," Sakura pressed, causing Sasuke's head to snap away and Sakura pulled his face back with one hand. "Maybe not now...have him be happy with Hinata while she is mortal, then tell Naruto what happened." She poked his lower lip with her thumb, smiling little with soft eyes.

"...Fine," Sasuke sighed out, pressing his lips to kiss her thumb slowly.

"Why not go lay down for a while until I finish cleaning the dishes?" Sakura suggested.

"Hn."

"Sasuke-kun, you're never too old for naps," Sakura pressed on with him. "It would not take much time and I wish to play with you outside."

"What game do you want to play, Sakura?" Sasuke asked as his eyes closed.

"I want to play for my food," Sakura chirped, hugging Sasuke's neck and nipping his skin to make him purr pleasurably. She rubbed her fingers on Sasuke's shoulder as she trailed her kisses up to his face. She kissed his closed eyes, his sculpted cheek and chin, his soft hair; feeling how still he was to let her do whatever she wished to him, doing whatever felt comfortable for her despite her odd position. "Will you play with me, Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke grunted in his language for 'yes', finally letting his hands grab her face and position her face to kiss him. She did, gently at first until he slanted his mouth and kissed her harder, more needy and demanding. His hands traveled down to her neck and touched her kimono, reaching in slowly to touch the scar that was shaped like a biblical star.

Sakura pulled back from Sasuke when she felt his fingers twitch against her chest. She gave him a confused expression and pet his cheek. "Don't worry, Sasuke-kun... Everything will be alright, you know."

"Yes..." His eyes just stared at her scar, the one that would match with the scar on her back. His fingers traced over and he just wished he could feel the heartbeat he fell in love with so, so, so long ago; to make that heart speed up during their blissful moments and feel it slow down as she rests her head against his and their chests were pressed together. Uchiha Sasuke wishes for many things to benefit his wife's misfortune. "Yes...I know, Sakura."

"Naruto is a good man and he will make the right decisions with Hinata-chan," Sakura added before kissing his forehead gently.

"I know..." He would not have Naruto make the same mistake like he did centuries ago.

=xxx=

"N-Naruto-kun...you looked so cute as a baby," Hinata's eyes glittered as she held the black and white photograph of the infant blond being held by Sasuke; using his tiny hands to grab Sasuke's sculpted chin and his hair, curious and drooling as Sakura was smiling brightly in the background as she was carrying Naruto's Mr. WubWub, a teddy bear that he still has somewhere in his boxes. "How old were you in this?"

"A year old, I think," Naruto tilted his head as he watched Hinata put the picture back on the shelf, quickly taking another photograph to coo at it. "That one was when Sasuke and Sakura-chan took me to try and catch the birds."

"Catch the birds?" Hinata asked. She saw that Naruto was on Sasuke's shoulders, looking up as it seemed that wind was blowing through their hair and clothes.

"You can't see it," Naruto stepped behind Hinata. "But we were actually ontop of the tallest trees that were in Japan back then, in the mountains."

"That is not safe for a baby!" Hinata cried out as she quickly placed the picture back, stepping back to Naruto's warm chest. "Did you really do that back then?"

"Sakura-chan wanted my mortal life to be...exciting, per se," Naruto explained in a thoughtful expression. "Sasuke was willing to do anything Sakura-chan asked until I started talking."

"Huh?"

"My first words were Teme," Naruto rubbed his head softly. "I called him that...a lot, which is what my father called Sasuke when he was alive. But I abuse the name for him and continously bicker at him with it. But, other then that, I was a good baby."

"How did your father meet Sasuke?" Hinata asked with pure interest as she faced Naruto.

"If I remember right, my father came to Kyoto because he was stationed for communications for America, because my father was a American-born citizen and was in the military; he spoke fluent English and Japanese," Naruto looked back as far as he could in his memories. "Sasuke knew that the military had a room filled with preserved blood for any emergencies, so he would sneek into the military base and steal them for the sake of hunting long hours on drunk people. My father found Sasuke making a mess in his office space -blood was everywhere because the dumb bastard didn't know how to feed from a pack- and...my dad was quick enough to befriend him, for some odd reason.

"Humans aren't well known to befriend vampires right off the bat of their first encounter; most people back then would grab their shotgun and try to kill anything odd and be considered by everyone in their community as a nutcase. But my dad simply helped Sasuke by...heh, get this, he got Teme a straw from the mess hall!"

"Thats pretty f-funny," Hinata giggled lighty.

"Yeah, so when Sasuke felt comfrotable enough, he would invite Dad over for tea and a meal that Sakura would make for my mom," Naruto smiled as he pointed to a picture of Sakura and Sasuke infront of a old house, telling her that was the house they lived in. "My mom would spend all of her freetime at that house because everyone teased her and she didn't have any friends... My dad saw her only once and he wanted to take her out to dinner. They quickly fell in love, got married and had me."

"It is amazing on how the people who raised you pretty much got your parents together," Hinata thought out loud, smiling in a true sense of happiness at the idea of how Naruto was brought into the world. "D-do you miss your parents?"

"I do. I dream of them sometimes...what their voices would've been like and how they would see me growing up," Naruto nodded. "They didn't have films or anything we could've afford to record their voices before the died, that's the only thing I don't like being born in the nineteen-twenties."

"I-I'm s-sorry," Hinata gulped.

"Don't be, Hinata!" Naruto burst a smile on his tanned face. "I am truly thankful for everything Sakura-chan and Sasuke has done for my life when I was orphaned. I do miss my folks, but I have never met them so...I can't be too sad, right? I'm happy that I'm what I am today and..."

His voice trailed off to concern her. "And what, N-Naruto-kun?"

"I'm very happy that I got to live my immortal life long enough to meet you, Hinata," Naruto smiled softly, his eyes very shy at the comment. He dared to reach out and lightly take her pretty hand in his strong fingers, feeling the mortal pulse the human girl had just under this perfect skin in Naruto's eyes. "I should take you home now, it's past lunch and I'm sure your folks are waiting for you."

Truthfully, despite her uber-shy reaction to Naruto's hand on hers', she didn't want to go home just yet. It was very odd for Hinata to feel this way for someone she had just met a few days ago, even a complete different species! Was this considered normal? Was this the real reality that only she was blessed to figure out and was now -in her mind, at least- falling for this nearly century year-old man who was frozen in time? Wow, she really needed some therapy at this point.

"Okay, N-Naruto-kun," Hinata smiled shyly in response, gripping his hold back with both of her hands. "Can you walk me home, please?"

"It would be an honor, Hyuuga Hinata," Naruto bowed like a true gentlemen as he wrapped her pretty arm around his strong one, holding her hand in the crook of his elbow with his hot hand. Naruto had to keep his immortal heart and body in check to not do anything over the top to this person; wishing to take everything as slow as he could to keep her comfortable as she started to adapt to the new world that the _real _reality had in store.

But all that would have to be saved for another time.

=xxx=

AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE- EVERYTHING. ISH. GOING. FAST... Kitty is not a friend to fast things, but you know what? Sometimes it needs to be done for the better stuff to get into place so Kitty can really not complain to you guys about her own issues, she will just have to accept the complaints the readers Review about every time and again. I apologise for the speedy stuff of the story but you will just have to accept it C: I love you guys for being polite with the critics about anything you do not like- CUPCAKES FOR ALL~!


	10. Chapter 10

-dancing- CHAPTER TEN IS HERE FOR ALL WHO HAVE WAITED. KITTY IS SO THANKFUL FOR EVERYONE WHO TAKES TIME TO CHECK THIS OUT! ;D Kitty certainly feels fuzzbally for everyone and will give you a virtual cupcake to all who at least take a glimpse of this fanfiction -gives you a virtual cupcake- THE FLAVOR IS...anything you want .n. Because I don't know your favorite cupcakes. I wish I did though! Wouldn't that be nice to know everyone in the world favorite cupcake flavor, and it could be anything your hearts desire! I could want a strawberry and cherry flavored o-o Ooh, I'm hungry and it's not even lunchtime yet!

Ooh, Kitty is so, so, so sorry for the absence D: Some trouble has come my way and it actually took a LOT of stressful events and times for me to come out of that, and I just want to say that I am thankful that everyone is being sweet with me about it. I will have to say that updates from here on out will take a little bit longer (but don't cry!) because Wilting Roses will officially become longer chapters ;D Isn't that good to hear? I figured that this story could get better if it was longer; I'm just picky like that.

Along with the unfortunate events that took toll on my time, I will have to postpone the two new stories ;w; I am so sorry for the disappointment, but there is just a lot of stuff that needs my time and I hope you all understand. BUT! AND DO I SAY BUT! The stories WILL, and do I repeat WILL, become public soon! Again, I am SO sorry for my lost promise to you guys, but shit happens D:

REPLIES TO REVIEWS (that need answers from Kitty)-

jojo07- You know what? I like you, kid ;D Just hearing from you and how happy you are whenever I update puts a smile on my face and helps me get through the bad things in my day. Thank you so much for your comments and support so far in this story and I wish YOU the best of luck for the future enjoyment.

charmedprincess101- Yeah, I'm still sorry about that ;w; Can you ever forgive a bad Kitty like moi? I still hope you enjoy that kind of scene with Sasuke and Sakura; it was meant to be very dark and fearful. I will admit to you that there will be even more coupling moments and dark pasts that will hopefully -in a good way, of course- will make you cry! Thank you and please enjoy your day!

XxLov3islik3aROS3Xx- Thank you so much, dear QwQ I'm very glad that you like it. PLEASE! I think your heart is too sweet to explode! ;A; Unless it explodes into glittering stars, then I may be okay with that... Meh! Thank youuu!

harusaki-tsukiko- You know...I love how you express your true feelings about the character's struggles in this story ;w; It makes my heart ache on how sweet and human you are! I actually wish I can bake you a cake to show my appreciation with all you have done, but I don't even think that is enough! As the author of the story, there will be much, much, much more problems for our beloved characters, but I promise you will be pleased ;3 Just for the sake of you! Thank you so much for everything!

Arniecar145- Thank you for your honest opinion of...that story that must not be named~.

Dark Devil2K7- Thank you very much and welcome to Wilting Roses ;D Please educate yourself in the emergency exits and have a nice day~

Remember the things that Kitty likes to make you happy! Kitty likes it when her readers are happy because then she is happy! Nyuuu, enjoy the chapter and have a great day please!

_P.S. Out of curiosity, since my occupation is an intern of an artist (manga, animation processing, etc) how does a DeviantArt account for my fanfictions sound? o3o I'm not making it yet, but I'm just curious on what you guys think._

=xxx=

**Unknown Date, Spring**

_Mikoto watched joyfully as she saw her youngest son wrestle with the offsprings of the Uchiha clan, allowing each of the children to try and tackle him down as he would tickle them into fits of laughter and playful growls that sound similar to tiger cubs. This process that her son was displaying with crucial for the offsprings; each child must know how to fight and protect their loved ones, even laying their life down for them if they must. She was thankful for her youngest son to teach them, having the Prince of the Uchihas assist in training the children was a great honor, indeed._

_"Get his ribs!" a young boy shouted as he instructed the other boys and girls to the Prince. they followed his idea and launched themselves at Sasuke, hauling him to the floor as Mikoto and the other mothers watched with smiles._

_"He is so good with children," a mother giggled as she waved her fan under her chin as she pointed out her daughter who howled to the sky as she pulled Sasuke's hair._

_"Aa," Mikoto nodded with a simple smile. She turned her head to the side to see the shouji door slowly open by a pale hand, fingers gripping the wooden edges as she saw Sakura's pink hair grace her doll-like face as she let her eyes wander at the dogpile with her newlywed husband underneath. She smiled bigger as she whispered for Sakura's attention. "Come here, darling... Come watch them with me and the ladies."_

_Sakura's green eyes widened as she shook her head fast. Poor girl was shy into coming out into the sun, after what happened the first time she tried to touch the sunlight and even scared to interact with the other vampires that lived on the Uchiha compound; staying in Sasuke's room throughout the whole entire winter weather, having Sasuke constantly stay in the room and be by Sakura's side when her new senses startled her. Mikoto was so happy for her son's dedication to his soulmate, never wanting to leave her side unless he thought she should drink._

_Sasuke's head popped out from the pile of little bodies when he heard Sakura's little whine of rejecting Mikoto's offer to come and join the mothers and wives to watch him. His eyes suddenly sparkling with a smile that lit a thousand suns as he commanded the children to halt their attack as he sprinted to the slightly opened door, getting on his knees and hands as he inched his face closer to the new vampire._

_"Come out, Sakura," Sasuke pleaded in a whisper as he touched his nose to hers. "Come and meet everyone..."_

_"Mn-hn," Sakura whimpered as she shook her head again and pulled back into the dark bedroom, sheilding herself into the comfort of her housing she was aware of. She heard her husband continue his small pleas, whimpering back how she didn't want to try to touch the sun._

_Mikoto smiled at her son's childish complaints as he stuck his head into the blocked off bedroom where he shared a bed with his new wife, holding her as she had nightmares and pains in her chest from the biblical star-shaped scar on her pale skin. Mikoto has gained the trust of the use-to-be human girl, teaching her small things on how to adjust to her new lifestyle; and someday soon to try and teach her how to hunt if she were ever to come out of the bedroom._

_"Sakura..." Sasuke hummed in a soft purr. Mikoto heard Sakura whimper as Sasuke pushed forward and was suddenly silent. Sasuke slowly started to crawl backwards, bringing Sakura along by keeping his lips attached to hers. He kept kissing Sakura's mouth and cheeks as her kimono arms wrapped around his neck, kissing him back sweetly._

_It took Sakura until her bedroom door slid shut behind her to realize that she was outside, suddenly nervous and scared of the sunlight that was just one foot away from her hands, as Sasuke's lower half of his was exposed to the rays of fire._

_"Don't be scared, Sakura," Sasuke whispered against her lips and held her arms tight before she could try and make a dash back to her hiding place. His arm snaked around her tiny waist as he used his other hand to hold her palm gently; he sat on the wooden flooring as Sakura tried to shrink away. "I'm here, Sakura; nothing is going to hurt you. You're well fed and there are others here that will help you through it."_

_"Mn..!" Sakura shook her head as she pressed her body closer to Sasukes', just wishing she could hide in his shadow. She gripped Sasuke's hand harshly, causing Mikoto to watch her son twitch a bit in pain that the abnormal vampire was capable of doing._

_Sasuke brought the strong hand to his lips, kissing her fingers and palm as he whispered assuring words that he will not let Sakura suffer for whatever reason as long as she tried. Mikoto's eyebrows raised slightly as her new daughter-in-law's lip twitching before nodding slowly to allow Sasuke to proceed._

_"She's so shy..." another woman said to her friend, hiding her speaking lips with her hand as her friend nodded in agreement._

_"You think she would be a handful, since after...you know?"_

_"How awful must it be for the Prince never to have children of his own with his soulmate... That is just miserable."_

_"You think he would look into trying to get another woman to produce his offspring?" another woman chirped in. "I know we all have our own husbands...but this is Uchiha Sasuke."_

_"Silence!" Mikoto hissed at all of the gossipers, even startling the children as she turned back to watch Sasuke's face look at the sun as his hand was guiding Sakura's towards the brighter side; her eyes were huge and scared of anything that would happen, using her other hand that was wrapped around Sasuke's neck, clung to his yukata collar in a shaking fist._

_Both of their fingertips touched the sunlight, letting Sakura jump and gasp into Sasuke's shoulder as he kept guiding the hand further and further into the sun, feeling how the warmth she had wished for when she woke up for the first time as a vampire. She sobbed as she looked at her lighted hand as Sasuke intertwined their fingers, feeling his kisses on her cheekbone and nuzzled his nose on her ear._

_"See, love? You are safe with me," Sasuke whispered low, but every keen ear could hear his sweet voice that he only had for his wife. He gently bent his head and licked Sakura's colorless cheekbone, causing the victim to close her eyes and press herself closer to Sasuke's form. "Please stay out here with me."_

_"Mn..." Sakura kept herself pressed close to Sasuke's side as he picked her up into his arms and came fully into the sun. Her eyes squinted at the sudden bright lights of the sun hit her pretty green eyes, soon to jerk again when she found herself surrounded with the children of the Uchiha Clan, all looking at her with curious gazes. Mikoto watched Sakura flinch lightly with all the youthful faces looking at her like it is the first time they've seen her -which is true- but slowly relaxed when Sasuke wrapped a arm around her waist once more._

_"Sir Sasuke, she is really pretty!" a young boy awed with his lips forming a small 'o'. "Will she be playing with us?"_

_"No, she can not play like us, child," Sasuke shook his head softly before nuzzling his nose back into Sakura's skinny neck, softly kissing her skin. "She will watch us play and maybe bond with your mothers and sisters."_

_"Sakura-hime," a little girl sprang from the group and touched Sakura's silky kimono, "will you please pick flowers with us and help us make flower crowns..?"_

_"Uhm... Yes, yes I would love to," Sakura blinked slowly as the girl continued to touch her pretty obi. She looked up to Sasuke's beautiful face to see him smiling, whispering that he will be by her side while she picked flowers with the girls._

_Mikoto smiled as she watched Sakura take the little girl's hand and follow them into the giant garden that t he Uchiha compound held within its large land that was preserved for the Uchihas to live peacefully and even mingle with humans in the village that was only an hours human walk paced away. She was so happy that everything in her life was nothing but peaceful and joyous events that took place everyday; her youngest son finding his loved one and her husband leading the males into a powerful walk in protection of the humans who live not so far away...someday to co-exist once again as they did many years ago._

_Unfortunately...that would never happen in Uchiha Mikoto's immortal lifetime._

Wilting Roses

Chapter Ten- The Undying Promise

Hinata looked up to the gargoyles that protected the Uchiha compund from unwanted visitors, thinking of what exactly were the magical creatures suppose to keep out from the land if vampires themselves live on the other side of the wall. Her thoughts were torn off as Naruto's hot hand gently touched Hinata's pale fingers, letting her look away to see beautiful blue eyes that just melt her heart on the inside. She offered him a smile before unconsiously grasping his palm and holding it securly.

Hinata felt safe. Yes, Hinata only felt safe with Naruto.

Naruto gave off the bright, toothy smile. "So did you enjoy your time with Sakura-chan?"

"Oh, yes, I did very much... She makes really good cakes and tea," Hinata gripped tighter to Naruto's hand as she pointed the next direction into the sidewalk that would lead them to town. "I would like to hang out with her -and you- again, if that is alright."

"The Uchiha Mansion is always open for you, Hinata," Naruto blurted with a laugh. "We like having company over anyway. Don't mind Teme's icy attitude, I think he likes having another girl around to keep Sakura-chan company and me out of his hair for a while."

"T-that is great," Hinata giggled softly.

Hinata was feeling at the top of the world right now. Walking in the bright sunlight of spring with Uzumaki Naruto _holding her hand! _She couldn't have asked anything more to make her day...well, better! This had to be the perfect Saturday in mankind's book of perfect Saturdays; walking with a vampire Prince Charming of her dreams that Hinata's mother predicted for her while painting the butterfly for her darling's present. She glanced out of the corner of her eye to see Naruto looking all over the place like it was new and amazing. Hinata smiled sweetly as he watched a bird chirped in a tree above then, suddenly getting excited as it flew away. He seemed childish, that was for sure, but it was the right amount for Hinata to enjoy.

"Oh..." sudden realization struck Naruto's face, having Hinata look up at him with a curious gaze. "Hinata, hold on a second." He slowly came to a stop and grabbed Hinata's soft hand, feeling the mortal pulse that would send his senses into a frenzy.

Hinata's face slowly reddened and gulped. "U-uhm...what i-is it, N-Naruto-kun?"

"Promise you won't tell anyone about...what I am? What Sasuke and Sakura-chan and I are?"

"O-of course I w-wouldn't tell," Hinata stammered softly, shifting her weight on her legs by nervousness. "N-Naruto-kun, I wouldn't tell anyone about y-you guys." She tightened her hand on his fingers, feeling the immortal muscles and the blood pumping through his veins as she smiled at him with the promise she would take to death. "I wouldn't p-put you guys in danger."

Naruto smiled big; big that it outshined the sun as she saw how truly _happy _he was. Hinata blushed deeply as she looked down and held his hand to the side. "Can you walk me home now, Naruto-kun?"

"I would be honored, Hinata," Naruto bowed his head like a gentlemen and held Hinata's hand down the street, encountered with a metal gate and a machine box he has never seen before.

Hinata walked up, letting go of his warm hand in the process, and pressed the button.

_"Hellooo?" _a Chinese accented voice startled Naruto to his toes, posing as if he was ready to attack the box until Hinata giggled. Naruto's face reddened and took down his attack stance.

"It's me! Hinata!"

_"Ooh, Hinata-sama, welcome home, my deary!" _A sound of a _'bzzz' _was heard and the metal gate slowly opened all on its own, as if it was magic!

"Whoa!" Naruto's eyes widened as he watched the gates stop at the sides. "How does it do that without someone actually opening it?"

Hinata smiled. "It's a machine, Naruto-k-kun..." She thought it was so cute how curious he was in the twenty-first century technology, hesitating to poke the thing and actually stood behind Hinata as she stood a step through the gates. "Aren't you coming in, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto's blue eyes scanned across the barrier of the gates. "Vampires...can't come into territory that is owned by someone else," he said carefully and rubbed the back of his head. "Your father would have to invite me through. Sorry."

Hinata smiled. "I-It's okay, N-Naruto-kun. Maybe you can come in sometime later when Father isn't here, r-right?"

"If he's not here and you're the heir to the land, I guess," Naruto said with his voice sounding serious before meeting her pale eyes with a smile. "I will see you later, Hinata. Remember that you're welcomed to the mansion at any time!"

He disappeared in a blink.

Hinata sighed dreamly before twirling down the paved driveway, waving to the gardeners that were tending to the blooming lilies and tulips before walking up the steps into her household, getting mauled by a smaller body. She squealed in shock as thin arms wrapped around her waist and a face buried into her big chest.

"Onee-chan!" Hinata's little sister, Hinabi, giggled wildly as she spoke against Hinata's breasts, causing her older sister to grow red in the face while the little one seemed to be adoring her older sister's growth. "Onee-chan, where did you go? I wanted to show you my art project I made in school this week!"

Hyuuga Hinabi is thirteen-years old and goes to the junior high school that was a couple blocks away from their house. Hinabi always adored her older sister since the passing of their mother years back, being only a baby at the time, and Hinata took the role of the mother for her dear little sister; teaching her all the girly things she needed to know and helped her through all her little problems of all sorts. As Hinabi got older, for some reason, she has gotten more needy and clingy to Hinata for reasons that made Hinata believe that the poor sweetie was stressed about losing more and more time with her older sister.

"I'm s-sorry, Hinabi-chan," Hinata whimpered lightly when she buried her face into her chest, whining. "I was out with my friends... I'm going to go see them tomorrow too, so I won't be here for breakfast with Papa."

"That's okay," Hinabi looked up to her sister. "Papa is going to be having breakfast with Uncle tomorrow anyway. He's coming tonight and-"

"Uncle?" Hinata blinked. She hasn't seen her uncle and aunt since her seventeenth-birthday last year in December. It has been about three months then and they actually don't live that far away, considerably. "Why are they coming over?"

"Papa said something about the family business," Hinabi shrugged. "I didn't pay attention to it, but he's bringing everybody; including Neji-niisama and his girlfriend!"

Hinata blinked. "I see..."

"Can you see my project now? I worked really hard on it and I wanna show you!" Hinabi was already pulling Hinata down the hall to her bedroom. "I was inspired by my onee-chan and butterflies!"

=xxx=

Naruto entered through the main enterance of the throne room to find Sakura sitting in Sasuke's chair, looking so small and vunerable without her tall, dark and protective husband of many centuries standing close to her or holding her against him. He was confused by the emptyness of the Uchiha member of the household and easily glide in a vampiric speed to get to Sakura's pale feet that dangled over the edge of the throne-like chair. The pink haired woman smiled down at him when he sat on the floor and looked up to her emerald eyes.

"Wheres' Teme?" Naruto blinked, leaning back on his hands.

Sakura pulled her feet under her kimono -changing into a fresh set after Naruto's attack in defense- and rest her chin on her hands. "He's hunting again."

"But we went hunting last night-"

"He found something, Naruto," Sakura cut him off slightly. Her eyes went down to look at the tin spec of dust that fell from the open window that let fresh air in. "Something that we didn't expect to find here in Japan."

Naruto sat up straight, his eyes' sparked a bit of fire. "What? Is it those weird Changes again or some rats who are trying to take over the territory of Kyoto? Lemme get 'em and I'll sort everything out! Tell that old fart Sasuke-teme to retire and lemme get 'em!"

A jab of pain came from Sakura's fan that she pulled out from her obi, hitting the back of Naruto's skull. He fell back and rolled away from the throne as he clutched to his head with both hands. "NEEE! SAKURA-CHAAAN, WHY YOU DO THAT, HUH? THAT HURTS SOOO MUCH!"

"You're getting too ahead of yourself and you wouldn't let me finish," Sakura explained while fanning herself with the painted fabric of her fan. Her eyes looking bored and tired. "Sasuke-kun isn't taking any chances of hunting in Kyoto for now and will be finding a Blood Donation Center downtown and we will have to stock the blood."

"But whats causing him to do that? I haven't noticed anything."

Sakura's eyes went darker, yet her eyes still sparkled. "You've never encountered them before, honey... I don't want to explain it to you..."

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto got to his feel slowly and went closer to her. He was surprised to find her face expression looking pained and near on tears -if she had any to produce right now- with her eyebrows knitting together with sorrow of the past hurting her. "Sakura-chan...are you okay?"

Sakura closed her eyes.

"I'd rather have Sasuke-kun have all the information figured out first, Naruto," Sakura opened her eyes slowly to look at Naruto's tanned face. She offered him a smile due to the sweet concern the boy she raised had on his face; letting him relax a little bit, but still tense in the shoulders. "Don't worry about it yet, okay?"

Naruto pouted. He watched as Sakura stood up on the throne and hopped down the glamorous chair and began walking barefoot across the tiled floor, walking to the exit of the room. Naruto followed suited as a loyal bodyguard as he sensed another being in the property, not matching Sasukes' powerful energy or Hinata's mortal being: something soft yet keeping something hidden, and Naruto didn't understand what it was. He continued to follow the pink haired cutie to the front door, opening it slowly to reveal the person with the unknown senses that bothered Naruto's nose.

A tall woman with dark hair and bright brown eyes, close to the shade of red in some way, and sporting pale skin with a natural peach blush on her pretty cheekbones. She was thin and dressed in a dark red dress and wearing a bright red lipstick. Naruto blinked a few times as he started to remember the woman from somewhere...

"Kurenai-chan," Sakura said with a soft tone, smiling warmly to the woman as she perked up. Naruto watched at the woman burst in her heels and literally attacked Sakura into a snuggling hug -like Naruto would do out of Sasuke's wish- and buried her face in Sakura's lovely smelling hair. "Kurenai-chan, you've grown so much."

"Onee-sama," Kurenai cried with a smile. "I'm so sorry I didn't hug you at the school, I-"

"YOU'RE THE LADY FROM THE OFFICE!" Naruto blurted out in the moment.

Sakura stood still in her stance until she whipped out her fan and pointed it at Naruto's nose, having him jump back a few feet and stiffen when Sakura glared at him in warning of _'don't you dare do something stupid, stupid.' _Kurenai giggled lightly as she pet Sakura's pink hair with her long fingers, blushing at the soft touch.

S-so...whos' this chick, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked quietly, looking at the two women. "She's from our school, in the office, I think, but how do you-?"

"Yuhi Kurenai," Sakura introduced the tall woman and patted her hand. "She is a child I use to play with back in Korea about fifteen years ago. You don't remember her because Sasuke sent you to that military-training school out of town... Remember? To get the access into the blood donations? Kurenai moved here about three years ago and got a job at the school."

"Oh...yeah," Naruto blinked hard, remembering the agony bitching he got from his head officer. He looked at Kurenai with critical eyes. "So what is she doing here?"

Kurenai blinked back with the same expression. "Can't I see the person who made me who I am today?"

"Touchy touchy," Naruto rolled his eyes as Sakura invited the human into the mansion. He followed a few steps behind after Kurenai took off her heels and followed Sakura into the kitchen with her back to him, totally ignoring the blond man as he grunted and grumbled loud enough for the human to hear. Personally, Naruto hoped to have alone time with Sakura to talk about the soulmate ideas and questions he needed answers to (because there was no way in hell that Naruto was going to ask Sasuke).

"I have been meaning to see you before we enrolled into the school, but unpacking and reminding the whereabouts of places got in the way; so much has changed in the past years, you know," Sakura smiled at the dark haired woman. "Sasuke-kun will be pleased to know that you honorly stopped by to see us."

Kurenai nodded. "If you and your family need help with anything at all, blood supply, maps of underground tunnels, regulations of policies and times of opening and closing, I can hack into the school's system and get them for you."

"Whoa, you can do that?" Naruto butted inbetween them, looking at the tall woman in awe. "First time I ever used a computer, it burst into flames!"

"I came to college for computer works and stuff like that," Kurenai explained in a soft voice, taking the seat at the wooden kitchen chair that Sakura offered while she began making tea. "I got married last year too."

"Ooh, sweetie!" Sakura cried out. "Why didn't you tell me that first! I thought I smelled something-!"

"Yes, Sakura-neesama," Kurenai smiled. "I'm pregnant now..."

Naruto's eyes squinted. "You don't...look pregnant."

"Naruto!" Sakura growled out, causing Kurenai to stiffen at the animalistic noise. "Be polite! You know the smell of pregnancy would cause the woman to become unknown."

"That's why I couldn't smell the gender! You're knocked up- OWWIEEEE! THAT FAN, SAKURA-CHAAAAN! IT'S EVIL!"

"I see that Onee-sama still uses the fan whenever an adult is being...bad," Kurenai smirked slyly. Sakura joined in on the giggles they shared as Naruto rubbed his ear. "I was going to try and tell you at school too, but our relationship is still...secretive."

"Why would you do that, honey?" Sakura asked.

"Asuma-kun is trying to stay true infront of the school system -they're strict with him for some reason- and he's working two jobs already," Kurenai bit her bottom lip. "He says that if our relationship status becomes public, he could put me in danger somehow. His other job is very harsh and I worry for him. I can not say what he does though..."

"He's a ninja," Naruto said matter-of-factly, having Sakura glare at him again before setting the herbal tea down infront of Kurenai who took it with a bow and sipped it. "What?"

Sakura looked at Kurenai with soft eyes. "If he leaves at night and you don't feel safe, you're always welcomed here. Besides, Naruto finally found a soulmate, so we will be getting more company over."

"Oh, congratulations, Naruto," Kurenai smiled warmly at Naruto who blushed furiously. "What is her name?"

Naruto looked down shyly and tapped his toes together, counting his abs since he was still lazy to put on a shirt. "Hyuuga Hinata..."

"Hyuuga," Kurenai repeated. Her eyes narrowed slightly in deep thought. "How come I know that name..?"

"She goes to the high school," Sakura explained quietly. "She's in our math class with Asuma, I think. Funny how your husband is my teacher, and I taught you how to ride a bike!"

Kurenai smiled. "Yes, that must be it."

Naruto finally calmed down when Hinata's name was safe with the unknown human he had just met. Sure, Sakura pretty much knew her since she was a little girl, but this was his _soulmate _they talked about there. He was starting to understand what Sasuke meant by how protectiveness for your loved one becomes like a natural instinct; a way they must keep them by their side.

Naruto wasn't happy walking Hinata home and the magical gate closed, blocking their way from each other as he wasn't allowed into the area unless he was invited in... How annoying it was that a vampire, a creature to sneeks into houses at night to drink blood after making people talk in their sleep for approval, has to ask someone to cross the gate. He missed Hinata now, damn it!

_'Theres' always tomorrow... Tomorrow, Hinata can come by... Right?' _Naruto started panicking as he flung himself off the chair and rolled around the ground while the two women watched him in confusion.

"Is he okay, Onee-sama?" Kurenai asked with a nervous brow.

"Mn...I'm sure he's fine. Now, tell me, have you started decorating the baby's room?"

Hours and hours later, when it was nearing sundown and Kurenai left with the cellphone number for Sakura, Sasuke returned home with a giant cardboard box with a labeled marker of 'O+' in his arms. He ignored Naruto's call for him and went into the kitchen to shove the box into the fridge that stood silently with no power. You see, vampires do not need electricity or gas; since they are tough-bodied and stiff in adapting to new enviroments. They don't need to eat human food, nor need warmth to stay cozy on cold nights; they're just natural that way. Sakura would cook things by the old-fashioned way of using firewood to bake and they would still have running water for the showerhouse that was constructed in the back with fresh water from the creek in the forest.

Sasuke closed the refridgerator and turned around to see Sakura walk into the room, looking at him with a curious gaze when their eyes met. Naruto burst in on the other enterance and watched their silent conversation take place, growing more and more edgy until Sasuke shook his head out of the blue.

"I didn't see anything," Sasuke muttered under his breath.

"Do you think it was a mistake? It has been a few years since-"

"I don't make mistakes, Sakura," Sasuke snapped, his eyes bled his red color with the black commas swirling. Naruto stiffened lightly and took a step to Sakura's side as she stayed still with no show of fear for the bloodline trait her dearly possessed. Sasuke noticed the defensive stance of his blond companion and slowly relaxed his shoulders. "I think...you should hide in the mansion for a few days. I will be calling into the school for you, Sakura, and I will do the same."

"What's going on, Teme?" Naruto cut in, seriousness in his voice. He met the red eyes of his friend and battled the innerparts of their beings for the answers.

After a long while of staring -Sakura standing still the whole time, like a doll she was- Sasuke finally deactivated his bloodline and sat down into the wooden chair. "I don't think it is time for you to know, Naruto."

Sakura's head tilted as she lightly pushed Naruto into the chair across from Sasuke, who rest his chin on his hands. "Sasuke-kun, I really do think it's time."

"Time for what? Come on, guys, tell me what?" Naruto put his hands on the table and edged closer to the seat.

"It's time for you to know why we can't let humans know who we are... How the Uchiha Clan was destroyed centuries ago," Sasuke said with a pain in his voice.

=xxx=

AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE- Sorry for the suckyness of this chapter QwQ I've been busy with a whole lot of stuff and I kinda had to go with it... Two cans of Monsters and a candy bar was all I could get to make this baby, so I hope my all-nighters was worth it for you guys.


	11. Chapter 11

uwu...Everyone here who reads this will get an imaginary cupcake made out of love and sugarness~ Simply because Kitty adores all who stay faithful through my struggles of keeping up with my promises of updating ontime for you guys. I will have to say that chapters in Wilting Roses will become much longer and more detailed of hurried events; for the reason of my occurances of problems in my everyday life prove horrible in my freetime and I wish to keep my readers happy as much as possible. I thank everyone who still does all that they do of waiting until the next update and still remain polite to me about it C; You're all just amazing to me. I am uploading this because everyone is just simply amazing and ALL my love goes out to all of you!

REPLIES TO REVIEWS (that need Kitty's answers)-

harusaku-tsukiko- I know ;w; I'm soooo sorry about taking so long! You don't need to use my job as an excuse...God knows I don't. But, anyhow, thank you so much for your patience pwp It helps me so much that you do that. I really do like how I have made Sakura in this story; her personality does change over the course of centuries, yet she still has her own -of what I like to say- _old lady _personality. I do have a DA account, but it is actually my personal one that I use for work, so I can not be allowed to use it for my own purposes of fanfiction, so thats why I am asking people if I should make over ;3 Thank you so much for your opinion on it, I need as many Reviews of it as I need. And yeah ;w; I meant human as in you haz feelings... If that makes sense? xD I didn't think of you as a cat! I'm sorry!

itspaulpolk- HUUUUUU! THANK YOUUUU -passes out from sugar-

XxLOV3islik3aROS3xX- Thank you so much for the Review and your opinion on the DeviantArt idea C; It's helping me a lot!

charmedprincess101- I really have to agree on how Sasuke was back then...he used to be such a sweety until- READ THE CHAPTER xD Thank you so much!

jojo07- Can you ever forgive Kitty for taking so long? ;w; Thank you so much for your kind words on saying that it is hard to find good stories (and I know there are amazing ones better then mine out there) but you're so sweet! *-*

CuteyJayAnimeLover1- But suspense is good for your health! It gets your blood pumping and it takes care of your lungs by getting excited! PATIENCE IS ALWAYS REWARDING, MY DEAR! ;3 And you haz been rewarded.

Please remember that stuff that help Kitty with her condition of fuzzballing. Review, Favorite, Follow or just simply leaving this story and never return helps her condition very well C; Kitty hopes you all have a nice day and enjoy the coming winter season of snow (if you get them, at least)!

_P.S. I'm loving how some people are requesting for a DeviantArt for my fanfictions C; Although, as much as I hate to bother you in your time, would you please give your opinion on it? DeviantArt is a free-accounted website where you can post or look at amazing art of anything you wish. I myself use this website to connect with my company's international artists and such, and it is a really great place to explore art C; When you have time, please do give your honest opinion!_

=xxx=

**Unknown Date, Summer**

_The moon was almost full. Every time the blue planet orbits perfectly with the sun into its full shine is when the Uchiha Clan create their monthly hunting trip for the men; when they bid their farewells for three days to their individual families and join the royal men to go across villages and forests to feast as much as they could and train together in combat of protection they give to the human villagers they neighbor with from enemies. That was how the humans lived side-by-side with the vampires: sharing strength in exchange to drink a pint of blood from each man in friendship, help out in their gardens in horrid weathers and attacks of armies who wish to take over the little land. It was an equal deal for both ends._

_On the evening before the departure, when the sun starts to set, Uchiha Sasuke and his beautiful bride_ _had hidden themselves within their bedrooms for days on end. The parents of the young prince began to worry for the absence of them when the children of the village fussed for their sensei to return for another lesson of combat. The eldest son, Itachi, finally went to summon the son at some point and returned to the parents with a sly smile on his face._

_Mikoto blinked confused. "Itachi, what is that expression for? Didn't you find your brother?" She stood up from her silked cushion and placed her hands together in worry as her husband watched their son sit down infront of them as the member of their clan left from their meeting._

_"Aa, I did," Itachi bowed his head in greeting to his father. "I left him and his love alone until tonight; that the deal we made with each other. Do not worry about it, Mother."_

_"But what are they doing? I'm worr-"_

_Fugaku gently took hold of his wife's kimono sleeve and brought her down to sit back on her cushion. "He's busy with his wife, my dear. Leave the newlyweds be."_

_It took another moment for Mikoto to realize what her youngest son and his wife were doing. After the long process of recovery of her rape from the witch and the results of unable to conceive left Sakura uneasy of being touched in her sensitive places, even leaving her husband, soulmate, perfect match out of the way and would cry whenever it would get out of hand. Mikoto finally smiled like the sun as she squealed. "Ooh! Let's celebrate, Fugaku-kuuun!"_

_Both Fugaku and Itachi stiffened by the Queen's idea. Uchiha Mikoto was popular in the royal household as the one to gossip and embarrass others for their fortune, no matter how personal it was, Mikoto wanted to make it special in her special way. They both had to settle the excited woman from going to the two lovebirds and congradulate them...which is never easy at all._

_Sasuke buried his face into Sakura's pale neck, purring lightly as he nuzzled his wife with so much affection in his eyes, mouth, hands and bodyheat. He smiled happily when he heard Sakura sigh with contentment as her little hand touched his spikes; resting her head on the pillow as he wrapped his strong arms around her body that was covered by Sasuke's yukata fabric. He thought she looked so pretty in his robes, how her pale white skin looked more white with his dark colors and the green eyes she had was more distinct to him. Her short, pink hair was sprawled over the futon pillow with her chest trying to slow its pace to a more calming state...not like Sasuke was trying to do the same._

_He moved his head out from her neck and placed a gentle kiss on her cheek, purring a little louder when she giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck loosely. "Are you okay?" he asked quietly into her ear._

_"Mn-hn," Sakura nodded and snuggled her way into his hold, listening to his quickened heartbeat on his pulse as her long fingers touched the throbbing skin before kissing it tiredly. "How long until you have to leave, Sasuke-kun?"_

_Sasuke's head moved off the futon pillow to looks at the cracks of the wooden wall to see the sun's light barely bleeding through them. He looked down to give another kiss to Sakura's face before answering. "It is almost sundown, my darling."_

_His wife frowned lightly, tightening the hold around his neck just barely. "Do you have to leave, Sasuke-kun..?"_

_Sasuke chuckled lightly, pressing his mouth to her forehead. "As much as I loath leaving the bedroom, it is my duty to go with the men for three days at most -I have not gone since we brought you here- so it will have to be now, with the children born and growing. It won't be a long departure, love."_

_Sakura agreed with a small noise, closing her eyes when his thumbs brushed over her cheekbones and kissed his way down her face slowly. She smiled little when his kisses lingered to her neck and she felt his teeth lightly bite her skin in a affectionate lovebite, sucking on her skin, his long fingers starting to leave a firing trail down her bare belly. "Sasuke-kun, I thought you would be tired by now..."_

_Sasuke made a low growl in a playful manner before pulling her closer once again._

_=xxx=_

_Uchiha Itachi watched as his brother and his wife come out of the sleeping quarters they shared, dressed and smiles planted on their faces. The moon as the only light needed to see that both of them were shy and nervous of the watchful eyes of the clan members as they walked in linked arms down the dirt path. Children swarmed them as they bounced out of the trees and brush, leaving their parents in the dust as they pampered the princess with comments of her kimono and wrestle with the prince; having the adults smile at last when Sakura showed no nervous emotions with the little girls hugging her and give back a returned embrace. Itachi has seen much improvement in his sister-in-law, how she calls his mother her own after many requests from the said woman, and even calls Itachi an older brother and that pleased him._

_Hearing about how she opened up to her husband was even better; a soulmate's wish to be one with their said other was something sacred in the vampire life._

_"Nii-sama, good afternoon," Itachi heard Sakura and bent his head down. She was very small compared to the average vampire woman, Change or Pure Blood, but Itachi found it rather cute for her personality. She smiled sweetly up to him as he stuck his hand out of his black yukata sleeve to pat her head in brotherly-affection. "How are you this evening?"_

_"I am well, thank you," Itachi smirked as his younger brother finally got rid of the child-dogpile and returned to his wife's side. He pulled his hand off of Sakura's soft head and used his index finger to poke Sasuke's forehead; a way he use to bother the little Sasuke years back. As expected Sasuke made a face of annoyance when he performed the action. "Welcome to the world of man, little brother."_

_Sasuke hissed at Itachi furiously before picking up Sakura's little body and carrying her away from the older sibling, making Itachi laugh humorously. He saw Sasuke carry the innocent Geisha to an unoccupied tree and pinned her against it before kissing her neck lightly; she made a embarrassed expression before wrapping her arms around his head and purred lightly when the touch of his perfect lips went up her flowerstem neck and to her cheek. Itachi rolled his eyes before walking off to entertain the children who were fussing for the younger Uchiha to play._

_Sasuke kissed the smooth temple of Sakura's head. "Remember what you will be doing while I'm gone?"_

_"Rest and stay by Okaa-sama's side until you return," Sakura sighed dreamily while pressing her nose into his shoulder, inhaling his strong earthy scent. "I am going to miss you, Sasuke-kun."_

_Sasuke hid his smile in her pink hair. He loved the way his soulmate clung to him so he wouldn't leave, missing his warmth at night and having him be with her during the day when people want to talk to her and such. She was still shy with the many members of the Uchiha Clan, but Sasuke knew that many of the older women have taken a liking to the newest vampire member...despite her misfortune of how she came to be._

_"Three days," Sasuke kissed her nose. "Three days and I will be coming home to you. Be patient, my dear. Then, when I'm home, we can continue are special time... Would you like that?"_

_"Mn-hn," Sakura nodded in his shoulder. She felt his big hands cup her face with so much gentleness and bring her face up to touch noses with his. Her unbeating heart twist with a sweet pain as she looked at the much love and worshipping this man had in his eyes before he cut the distance and kissed her softly. Her whole body went numb under the touch of the man who showed her every definition of adoration and affection as she sighed into his sweet kiss._

_"Alright, little lover man," Itachi's voice interupted Sakura and Sasuke's moment. A large hand grab hold of Sasuke's yukata collar and pulled him away from the pinned young woman; causing the spiked haired man to growl like a animal and tackle the taller figure to the ground. They wrestled for a moment until Itachi easily held Sasuke down to the floor. "Father wants us in front line, little brother. Kiss your woman and lets hurry."_

_Sakura giggled childishly as Sasuke got himself out of Itachi's strong grip and went back to his wife, who stayed leaning against the tree with a sweet smile on her face as Sasuke smirked back deviously. He placed both hands on the tree, either side of Sakura's head and leaned closer to her face. Inch by inch, Sasuke killed the distance between them and gave the most slow, sweet and yet painful kiss. He pressed his whole body to hers and closed his eyes as he slanted his mouth on hers', purring loudly when she wrapped her arms around his neck and went to her toes. She heard children making cooing noises and disgusted grunts as they pointed to the couple._

_Sasuke unwantingly pulled away from the kiss, letting his fingers touch her short pink hair with a child's curiosity. "Three days and then I will be coming home to you," he spoke very quietly as he pressed his forehead against hers, looking into her green eyes as he smirked wickedly. "I will be back with deserved blood for my darling flower."_

_Sakura smiled. "You spoil me too much, Sasuke-kun." She fixed the ruined collar of his clothes and kissed his cheek. "Please be safe and don't do anything destructive, ne?"_

_Of the three seasons of being married, the youngest Uchiha melted for the woman he found as a mortal. She was everything he ever wanted in someone he wanted to spend all his eternal existence with; he wanted everything to be perfect and comfortable for this person he called his love, his everything, and would stop at nothing to hurry with the sacred time of hunting with the men of the Uchiha Clan to come back home to find her resting on his side of the futon, waiting for him to come home. _

_Sasuke buried his nose into her hair, inhaled her sweet natural scent and began growling with excitement. He leapted away from the tree and Sakura and took off running past the other males of the clan saying goodbye to their families; kissing their young children's heads and giving a longlasting kiss to their wife or lover before following the three royal men of Fugaku, the main head of the whole Clan; Itachi, the eldest son and main military leader and Sasuke, the youngest son and promised to be next in line of the throne. The echos of goodbyes of women and children was heard over the dense forest surrounding the village of vampires._

_"Bye, Daddy!"_

_"Be safe, my love; don't do anything your stupid cousin would do!"_

_"Remember your promise to look for the yeti, Papa!"_

_Sakura smiled warmly as she watched the head of her man disappear into the pitch darkness, being followed like a true leader by the men of the Uchiha Clan going into their ritual hunt under the full moon that was to take place souly tomorrow; to make trades with humans to benefit their land with plentiful foods and protection in to give a single pint of blood to a vampire. She felt the presence of Mikoto reach her side and send a polite glance and dip of her head before watching the children coming for her attention._

_"Okaa-sama, would you need company for the rest of the night?" Sakura picked up a child that reached up to her first, a little boy with matching black hair of the Uchiha Clan but had brown eyes from his once-mortal mother._

_"Aa, I would love to play with the children before sunrise," Mikoto giggled as she brushed her clothed hand over the young boy's cheek, who blushed and hid his face in Sakura's pink hair. "Tomorrow, I would like to show you the garden's growth since you and Sasuke have been...busy lately." She smirked evily at the young immortal, who squeaked in embarrassment and scurried away with the child in her arms._

**Day One, Waxing Full Moon**

_Sakura's skin tingled lightly as she woke up from her slumber of the bedroom she shared with Sasuke. Her green eyes opened little as the feeling in her hands continued the feeling of becoming more and more numb of the light touches of somesort under the clothing she used as a blanket. Blankets were not yet used for bedding in this era, so the hidden body parts that were having the feeling became more interesting to the young vampire._

_Sakura slowly pulled out her hands and found her palms sparking blue-green flames from her skin, watching the little licks dance up her fingers and disperse into the dark air. Her lips parted curiously as she sat up naked, her clothing slipping off her skin as she inspected the body part more. She touched, no burning sensation; she pressed her hand to the fabric, no fire destroyed it._

_She hurried to get dressed in a simple silk robe and hurry to the throne room, where her mother was tending to her duties as a royal adviser and current leader of the Uchiha Clan while her husband was out with the men. She burst in while a villager clan member was speaking about the next goods they would ship in for the humans with her hands still flickering the water-colored flames._

_"Okaa-sama," Sakura whimpered for answers. "Okaa-sama, what is this?" She held up her hands as the woman smiled and excused herself out of the room to leave the royal family alone to talk._

_Mikoto stood up from her cushion and walked over to the pink haired vampire. Her eyes never leaving the hands as she picked up a little palm and pressed her fingers to the wrist, looking for a pulse. "It is very rare to find this... I'm afraid I don't know what it is, darling."_

_Sakura pouted lightly at the reply. "Okaa-sama, I'm scared. Do you believe it has to do with the curse..?"_

_Mikoto shrugged. "I have seen Cursed vampires here and there in my lifetime, but I have not seen anything like this; normally witches will try and get Pure Blood traits into the Cursed, but we definitley don't have anything such as this." She smiled to her considered daughter and pressed her palm to her cheek. "Do not be frightened, dear. It may be a useful power to you once you figure it out...but, for now, why not keep it simple and not try to figure it out what it is used for until the men come home, alright?"_

_Sakura nodded and recieved a kiss on her head by the Queen of the Uchiha Clan. The flicker of the blue-green flame dimmed to disappearance from sight as her lungs inhaled the scent of blood; becoming rather calm by the smell of the sweet liquid that eased all her pain and discomfort in the sun. Mikoto smiled sweetly by the woman's shyness emerging and took her unlit hand in hers and guided her to the exit._

_"Let's see what the village is up to today, ne?"_

_Uchiha Sasuke could smell the burned firewood in the distance. He could smell every individual being that was in the village at the time, every person in the village that were inside homes or out in the field._

_Funny...there was less people in the village they usually visited._

_"Father, do you sense this?" Sasuke glanced at Fugaku who had his hood up to cover his sensitive skin from the sparkling sun; after giving his last blood to his sweet wife until his return, the sun was not his particular friend at this point until he can stock up once more. "Is there...a shortage of people?"_

_"There must have been a plague," Fugaku figured open mindedly. He looked over to his older son if he could sense anything more, but he couldn't find anything more then what the other head leaders already knew. Fugaku stopped in his footsteps, having his sons do the same as they turned around for the other men to halt their steps too. "Everyone, please remain here while my younger son and I inspect some matter."_

_The men obeyed loyally and settled to their shins on the soft grass, watching as Fugaku pressed his covered hand on Sasuke's shoulder and led him forward while Itachi crossed his arms and offered a happy smile to his companions. Sasuke followed his father in fast footing passed the edge of the forest, where the village in waiting was suppose to greet them._

_It was empty in all reason of people: not a single face of a man, woman, child or elder was sought out by the two vampires. Any laundry that would hang on lines was not there and a hazy mist lingered all over the ground at their feet. Doors were shut tightly and lights were out as Fugaku and Sasuke ventured into the once-jolly village._

_Sasuke's black eyes bled into a crimson color with three black commas swirling in a clockwise motion. Fugaku's eyes did the same as they scanned the area; seeing souls of heartbeats within homes of elders and children only, huddling together and in the farthest corners of their housing if possible. Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed as he walked up to the first door and knocked lightly._

_"Hello?" Sasuke called out in a concerned voice. "Anyone in this household, please confront me..."_

_Something tumbled inside the housing, someone hurrying and knocked something over. Sasuke blinked with his Sharingan watching two figures move farther and farther away from the sliding door. A old voice of an old man could be heard in labored breathing of fear._

_"Please," Sasuke started, "we have the things you-"_

_"GET OUT OF OUR VILLAGE, DEMON!" the old man's voice shrieked to startle Sasuke. The young vampire prince looked back to his father who was just as shocked himself. "GO BACK TO THE PITS OF HELL AND BEGONE WITH YOUR DEMONIC WAYS!"_

_"What is the meaning of this?" Sasuke demanded in a soft tone, knocking a little harder on the wooden frame. "We've visited your village many times before. You know us!"_

_"DEVIL'S SPAWN! DEVIL'S SPAWN!" the man weeped loudly, clutching the young child to him in fear. "THE PRIEST CAME! HE CAME TO TELL US THE TRUTH OF YOUR EVIL WAYS! HE SHOWED US THE BLACK EYES OF EVIL AND CURSES!"_

_Sasuke blinked. 'Cursed..? Black eyes of evil?'_

_Fugaku glide his way up to the door, using a fierce voice that would send shivers down the toughest spines. "You come to the enterance and speak to us by faces! It is cowardly of a man your age to be like this!"_

_"THE PRIEST CAME WITH HIS ARMY! HE WILL BE RID OF ALL EVIL IN THE WORLD!" the elderly man shouted over the child's crying. "HIS ARMY WILL GET RID OF ALL REPRODUCTION AND FUTURE GENERATIONS OF YOUR KIND!"_

_Sasuke stared at the door in confusion. Processing the gibberish the man was giving him and his father was rather overwhelming for the young-looking prince. Never, in the centuries he has been living as a twenty-year old-looking man, has he ever encountered such fear in the human beings of rejection. This village would usually welcome the vampire kind with open arms..._

_'Black eyes...'_

_"Sakura." Sasuke looked at his father, his commas swirling. "Theres' danger heading to the Uchiha village, Father."_

_Fugaku's chin stiffened. "They've fed on the last blood...they won't be strong enough for-"_

_"We need to leave," Sasuke growled out as he turned his heels and took off running back into the forest, yelling in a animalistic hiss of danger to the other men. He saw every male of the Uchiha Clan, Pure Bloods and Changes, sprang from their sitting position and growl out in reply as Itachi's eyes widened in alarm; sending a mob of dangerous beings to go back to their living area._

**Day Two, Full Moon**

_Sakura entered her bedroom in the middle of the night. Her eyes looked over the empty room where her husband would usually escort her into bed and try to get her to rest -despite her usual hyperness that makes her want to stay up all night- before the sun would come up when a vampire should rest for a few hours. She truly missed the dark and handsome man she calls her own, how gentle he always is with her whenever she is uncertain about something; or the nightmares of Kabuto's face and the close-to-real feeling inbetween her legs, how he would hold her tight in protection when she would cry out for help. Even the memories of the intimate moments they shared before they departed for his royal duty in frontlike. She missed that so much._

_Sakura sighed softly. Mikoto has been showing her all the ups and downs of becoming the next Queen of the Uchiha Clan: all the whereabouts of needed attention and what to do and what not to do when in present of a relative. Mikoto has taught Sakura some royal discussion moves in the throneroom -sitting on Sasuke's cushion by Mikoto's right side- and listened to each person coming into the room with a concern or request from the royal family. The children would swarm Sakura and sit on her lap when the mothers or aunts would bring them in and just enjoy her time even more with a child present. _

_Before Sakura entered the bedroom, Mikoto told her that she would be watching the village tonight since the moon was officially full and any of the men could try and venture back into the village out of the rules...she would usually throw her slipper at them until they run away like frightened critters. Sakura was intructed by the Queen to sleep for the rest of the hunt, since she hasn't slept since Sasuke left, and await for her husband to come home._

_She slowly bent to her knees and crawled her way to lay on his side of the futon. She purred dreamily before laying down and bury her face into his pillow, inhaling his strong scent and finally ease up by a million when his earthy smell swarmed all her vampiric senses, her burning thirst in her throat and any signs of abnormal human moves was halt by an instant of the signal of the only person who kept her safe and calm._

_"Sasuke-kun..." Sakura whispered with a soft smile before closing her eyes. She hugged his futon pillow and held it closer as she curled into a ball, pretending that he was here and letting her hold him close as he would do the same back to her. _

_Sakura heard commotion going on outside of her bedroom, listening to children laughing merrily as Mikoto made little noises for them to hurry on to their homes with their mothers and get inside for the rest of the night. No playtime with the princess! She smiled sweetly at how the children cried out for her to come out and tell them a bedtime story or one last game before they had to go to sleep. Oh, how she wished to become a mother of her own children..._

_Sleep began to overtake Sakura's body and she prepared herself to a well-deserved couple hours of resting._

_Footsteps began running towards the village where the vampires lived in total peace. Labored breathing from running for a long time was echoing through the trees in a silent roar when it hit Mikoto's little ears; her head snapped up as she slowly risen from her cushion that was placed for her outside and stepped barefoot onto the dirt, looking souly onto the forest's door as the noises continued to grow louder by each minute._

_She heard voices. Male voices that she had no idea who they belonged to in the first place... She knew every male voice of the Uchiha Clan and none of them followed to any members she was aware of. Heartbeats was heard as well and a sudden change in the air caused Mikoto to step back in surprise as the wind blew a horrid stench into her nostrils. Her hands flew up to cover her nose as she let out an unpleasant shriek that stung all ears in the village._

_A growl of a canine was heard in the forest as Mikoto spun around to see pairs of glowing eyes and sharp teeth growl at the beautiful immortal as she flashed her sharpened canines back at it as she howled loudly for everyone to wake up._

_A giant wolf-like animal burst out of the brush and attacked Uchiha Mikoto._

_Sakura turned in her half-asleep dazed when she heard Mikoto make a noise. She must've found a male member of the clan trying to come into the village and was scaring him off. Sure, Sakura was not used to the animalistic noise vampires made, but she was learning to adjust to the weird noises no matter how angry it sounded to her ears. She made a noise of a light sigh as she burrowed into the cushion of the futon and let herself drift back to her needed sleep and-!_

_The shouji door slid open behind Sakura's back of opening. She ignored it, thinking it was a child looking for their favorite playmate, or even Sasuke...but she wasn't going to jump into his arms, since she was so, so, so tired after today. She listened to the steps coming closer to the futon and suddenly stop by the edge where her form was laying on the fabric cushioning as she smiled silently to herself._

_Sakura's voice was tired as she rubbed under her eyes slowly. "Sasuke-kun, please let me slee-!"_

_A sudden yank on the back of her skull cut her sentence short as she was lifted off her bed and midair, meeting yellowing eyes of a furry monster that held her by her short hair. She stiffened, suddenly wide awake, as the dog-like monster slowly sneered at her before dragging her out of the bedroom to find sparks of fire and burning homes of the other members while the women carried their own children, running away from other animalistic creatures that resembled dogs and human men carrying sharp object on their shoulders. Her throat tightened as she saw a child she knew all too well from her playtime with the children of the Uchiha Clan being tripped over by a farmer with a pitch-axe, raising the tool high above his head and..._

_Sakura screamed in horror as she watched the blood drip from the young child's skull as the monster continued to drag her through the dirty path to the center of the whole coumpound; where the village meetings took place for the royal family to give orders of such, where a two tall figures stood in white robes, their arms crossed holy-wise and each had a necklace that held a cross charm on the chain, gold and sparkling in the darkness with the flames light reflecting on them._

_Her vision was blurring as she let out wails and cries for her Okaa-sama to come and help her, too overwhelmed and upset to try and get out of the overly tight grip on her head. It didn't hurt her at all, since her immortal curse left her unable to grow or lose any hair, but it was not comfortable to be held by the hair as the canine-monster shoved her face into the ground at the feet of the two people standing over her._

_A single foot touched her head and pushed it over to the side to have her eyes look up to the sky and the hooded faces looking down at her. She gave an uncomfortable whimper as her hazy green eyes blinked in sadness and misery of the murder she had witnessed moments before._

_"Is this her, Master?" the canine growled out as he bowed to the taller figure that seemed to have long, long black hair that was shinny with grease and oil from lack of washing. "I have found this one sleeping in the back of the royal housing... She seems more exotic, if I do say so myself."_

_"Aa, this is the one," a hiss-like voice made Sakura stiffen when a very pale hand touched her jawbone. She cried out and tried to move, but a weight of a giant paw on her torso held her down. "Don't cry, my darling... I have been dying to meet you after what my partner has told me of you."_

_Her eyes opened to see a man that resembled a snake. A purple color linked around his gold eyes as a slimy hue of white was planted on his face, his oily black hair sticking to his cheekbones as he pulled his white hood down to look at the beautiful woman. His thin lips smiled in a eerie way as he continued to touch her face. "My name is Orochimaru, and I'm here to bring you home..."_

_"Orochimaru-sama," a familiar voice made Sakura's eyes snap open as she looked behind Orochimaru to see familiar spectacles and grey hair, "we will have to hurry if we want to be ready for the men of the clan..."_

_Kabuto smiled somewhat lovestrucked by the sight of the horrified girl, who screamed louder as the nightmares all became real; feeling a twitch of pain inbetween her legs after working so hard to overcome the fear of being touched by another man. He came closer to the woman he cursed himself and commanded the canine to sit her up, which he did by holding her inbetween his hand-like paws. He reached to her little face and tilted her chin up to meet the eyes he adored to heart._

_"Sakura, you look as lovely as ever..." Kabuto licked his lips, his sharp canines visible. "I have kept your long hair as a token for our...special occasion, and I'm even more delighted to find you here after that Uchiha rat took you away from me before I had the chance to come back and get you."_

_"P-please..." Sakura groaned in pain of her skin thinning thanks to the claws holding her up, "leave th-the Uchihas a-alone..! They're just children and women!"_

_Kabuto smiled, leaning in closer to have their nose touch carefully. His hand caressing her face as if she belonged to him. "Don't cry, my dear blossom. These people will no longer be a bother into your new life."_

_"THEY'RE MY FAMILY!" Sakura screamed, trying to thrash around with what she had but was squished under the paws, letting her lungs fill out. It didn't stop her from yelling in fierce anger. "LEAVE MY FAMILY ALONE! OKAA-SAMA! OKAA-SAMA!"_

_"'Okaa-sama?'" Orochimaru tilted his head to the side and poked his chin. "Is she refering to the Queen, Kabuto?"_

_"My poor darling believes that the royal family is hers'... How sad," Kabuto pouted, not leaving Sakura's face as she cried out for Mikoto. He took her face in both hands now and forced for her attention. "Sakura-chan, Uchiha Mikoto is not your mother...not anymore." He swayed a hand to the side of Oroshimaru's leg, pointing to a object that didn't match with anything of nature._

_Sakura's eyes widened as she saw Mikoto's decapitated head lay under Orochimaru's foot as the man kicked it around like it was nothing but trash. She screamed and shut her eyes tight; a sudden feeling of burning raked through her chest, her unbeating heart suddenly felt filled with a strong power that took the last of needed air from her system. The numbness in her hands returned but it was hurting her this time. The hurt of loss and the need for revenge._

_"My dear bride," Kabuto licked Sakura's frozen face slowly, as if he was showing much affection he was making time for, "let me take you home and I will fix the mistake of your steril. We will have children and-"_

_Sakura's hand got out of the hold of the animal's hand and grabbed Kabuto's throat. The blue-green fire bursting out of her hand and offered a much tighter strength against his neck. Her eyes opened to reveal black beads dripping black blood out of her tearducts as her mouth opened to let out a high-pitched yowl when she threw the grey-haired man across the area and took hold of the animal's claw and ripped it out from the skin, sending an oozing blood squirting from the giant wound as Sakura's 'fire' went into the opened wound and set the animal's insides onfire._

_The animal howled in severe pain and released the cursed woman from its grasp, letting the wild creature go loose for blood. She opened her mouth wide and let her mulitple fangs stick out from her doll-like lips as she watched a older woman get her throat torn to shreds by another dog-creature._

_What were these things?_

_"DEVIL WOMAN!" a human man yelled at her from behind. Sakura slowly turned around and gave the man the most frightening glare she had ever come up with, sending the man into a frozen shock. Sakura's robe tilted off her left shoulder as a undying hunger clenched her belly as she felt the blood pump through the human's veins. She could smell the dead children's blood stained on the man's ratty clothing, sending her stress to skyrocket over the charts as she dart towards the man in a inhuman speed. "WEREWOLVES, HELP M-!"_

_Sakura's glowing hand struck right through the man's throat._

_=xxx=_

_The men were too late. _

_By the time the hunting party arrived, the werewolves fed on vampire blood and gain the forbidden liquid of getting their senses hightened to tell where every individual's weakpoints were; making the men not worth a finger lifting. All it was for the werewolves was teeth and drinking._

_The Uchiha men didn't stand the chance after seeing their murdered family._

_Losing your soulmate or losing your whole family at once will drive one vampire insane; bad enough for that vampire person to become unable to think straight when in battle. And thats what happened to the men of the Uchiha Clan as one-by-one went down by the rip of their throats where echoing in the way a werewolf would reach with their claws and tear into the hungry flesh._

_Sasuke tackled a werewolf to the ground, lightning sparking in his palm as he struck his fist through the creature's chest and tearing the heart out of it. He screamed in absolute anger into its ear as he demanded for the last minute of its life. "WHERE IS MY WIFE?"_

_The creature only chuckled up blood and went limp under Sasuke's hold. The young prince threw the body without struggle and watched his own clan member get slaughtered when he picked up his very little daughter and held onto his wife's lifeless hand. His eyes widened at the sight of the murder when the man only wanted to mourn for his loss when the werewolf bit into his neck and tore him to shreds._

_Sasuke fell back and crawled until another set of hands picked him up and set him on his feet. He turned to find his older brother grabbing his face and trying to tell him something important, but the witness of death was too much for the man. _

_"Sasuke! SASUKE!" Itachi gripped Sasuke's jaw tighter, causing him to winced in response. "Sasuke! Get into the forest and find Sakura. Her scent is strong in the trees along with a abnormal male..!"_

_Sasuke stood for a second before taking off into the woods; Itachi closed his eyes for only a moment before he halt another werewolf from trying to tear him to shreds, ripping a limb out of the creature's socket before watching it die._

_=xxx=_

_Sakura was pinned to the ground as Kabuto gripped the back of her hair, crying out in pure anger as she tried to claw at his eyes. She was let go and she took off to grab onto a tree for support, hugging the trunk as she bit her lip to ease the painful bites Kabuto has done to her mouth. Her beady eyes glared at Kabuto, who simply pulled his hair back and smiled evily at her, his tongue darting out to taste the black blood that spilled from her lips that he caused by biting her mouth hard._

_"You're so different when you're angry, my princess," Kabuto chuckled with a glint in his eye. He took one step towards her and halt when Sakura snarled at him like a cat, but that made him smile more. "I am truly sorry I didn't come back to get you after our session back in Land of Seasons, but that damn Uchiha beat me to you... I missed you and-"_

_"STAY AWAY FROM ME! I HATE YOU!" Sakura howled at him as another single black tear fell down her porcelain white face, her sharpened teeth threatening to bite into his throat and tear him to shreds. "I HATE YOU! I WILL KILL YOU, DO YOU UNDERSTAND!"_

_Kabuto's tongue darted out again to taste the black blood he drew from Sakura's mouth, purring with a certain arousal lingering in his throat. "My Sakura-hime, there is no need to put on an acting face here; we're alone and we can rejoice in embrace together once again."_

_"NO! LEAVE ME BE!" Sakura cried out, clawing at the tree bark as the sudden feeling in her legs disappeared. She gasped when the air picked her up by the neck, nothing whatsoever holding her, but she saw Kabuto's tough hand sticking out of his robe and rising up as Sakura's body lifted higher against the trunk of the tree and tearing more silky fabrics of her back. Her little hands grasped to her throat as she tried to pry off the invisible hands off her neck, which failed miserably._

_"Sakura-hime, why must you fight against me?" Kabuto asked with glitter in his eyes. He showed much adoration for the abnormal vampire woman. He stepped closer when he saw Sakura gasping for uneeded air. "I gave you the offer of living forever with the man who loves you... I love you. I want you. I want your body to-"_

_"YOU RAPED ME!" Sakura shrieked like a banshee, able to tear a human's eardrum without them realizing it. "YOU RAPED ME AND BROKE MY BODY!"_

_"It was a mistake to make you steril, my blossom," Kabuto said cooly as he lowered his land into a fist, restraining Sakura's body straight and brought her down to meet face-to-face. "I had to be sure I got you first before we make children toge-"_

_Sakura let a fierce, low growl escape her mouth as she offered the most frightening glares. "You're too late..."_

_Kabuto met the black beady eyes he created in damnation. "What?"_

_"Sasuke-kun," Sakura wet her upper lip weakly, "he now and...forever holds my body...in his hands, mind, body." She exhaled, the feeling of tiredness hitting her nerves. "I belong to Sasuke-kun."_

_"No. I took your purity," Kabuto actually grabbed her throat, her body didn't move as she slumped against the tree in his tight hold. "I took it, I own you! I made you this way and no one can-"_

_"Sasuke-kun loves me more then you can ever offer," Sakura hissed out, a feeling tightened in her chest when Kabuto's free hand shoved its way into her tattered robe and traced the biblical scar, then groping her small breast as if he had the right to touch her there. "He makes me feel loved like a real man should-"_

_"I can make you my goddess," Kabuto hissed. Sakura's eyes narrowed in curiosity and lightly touched his wrist with her elegant fingers. "You can be a real goddess to the vampires!"_

_Silence overtook the two vampires for the longest moment._

_"Say more..." Sakura asked in a sweet whisper. "Tell me...of this promise?"_

_Kabuto half-smiled in slight victory. "I have the power, all grateful to Orochimaru-sama. He made me his partner and we share the same idea of the future of the vampiric kind as royalty in mankind; take over the weaker races and build our empire." He panted when Sakura's beady eyes dimmed, a green hue in the black mix. He was becoming more and more distracted by the spring beauty. "When we overtake the Nara Clan next, we will overcome the head Vampire Families! Orochimaru-sama promised me half power and I would make you my queen. We will make children that will rule the world for generations to come!"_

_"I want that..." Sakura gasped with droopy eyes. "Fix me now...Kabuto-kun! Fix me now, please!" She whined out in wanting and Kabuto couldn't control his own thoughts by her begging pleas._

_"Yes...yes, I will fix you, my princess," Kabuto's hand that was touching her chest was trailing down her torso, getting oh-so-near her private place where Sasuke was only allowed to touch-_

_Sakura's eyes snapped open on instinct, the feeling of the unwanted man nearing her private place was ruining her plan. She couldn't help it. She grabbed her clawed hand to his throat, letting her banshee cry echo throughout the whole forest as she threw Kabuto's body away from her; her stance on instinct to prepare for another pounce on her attempted prey as he slowly got up from the fall._

_"You...whore!" Kabuto yelled in pure anger. "You deny my love for you and go to give yourself to that Uchiha! That is a dying race, my dear! HE MEANS NOTHING TO YOUR SPECIAL BODY, LIKE I DO!" He prepared to invisibly grab her again until another anatomy hurled from behind, spinning Kabuto's neck almost painfully when his black eyes met with crimson of a black design of three commas swirling._

_"Don't touch my wife," Sasuke hissed with wide eyes as he collected lightning into his left palm and started running towards the man who cursed his beloved._

_"No..." Kabuto smirked slyly as he raised a fist out of his side, towards Sakura's body as she fell to her knees. She screamed in agony and caused Sasuke to halt in his track, his Chidori still intact with his palm as his eyes widened in fear for his wife; Sakura's head fell back as her mouth opened loosely with black liquid squirting out of her throat, choking on her own blood as Kabuto twisted his fingers in a circular motion._

_...Ba-dum..._

_An echo from Sakura's chest reached his ears as he heard her dead heart pump a single noise, her body twisting in around on reaction as she cried out in pain with more and more black blood spilling from her lips, a sudden pool of the same substance dripping from inbetween her legs, staining the white, tattered garment. Sasuke yelled out in frustration and pain on the sight of his wife's torture as he faced the person causing it all._

_Kabuto smiled deviously. "I made her body this way, to live forever... I can easily take her out of existence, Uchiha."_

_"You wouldn't." Sasuke couldn't even find words to describe his voice that was thick with murderous wants yet a painful twist as he winced at Sakura's cry when the witch twitched his index finger. _

_"I want her, Uchiha," Kabuto announced with a smile that caused his canines to stick out. "And, someday, I will have her... You will forever suffer the curse of her body when she's by your side. But only I can get rid of her problem, Uchiha; you won't find anyone to help her, but will come __**crawling **__back to me!" He stood from his knees, feeling superior when Sakura's body was forcefully pulled by the invisible yank Kabuto performed, having her slim body impact his and grabbed her face with the free hand, his long tongue resembling a snake lick for a long moment over Sakura's gasping mouth, tasting the black blood only he found perfect for his thirst. "Her body won't restore your Clan... The Uchiha Clan is DEAD!"_

_Kabuto disappeared, letting go of Sakura's frozen intestines as she fell foward._

_Sasuke let go of his Chidori, letting it burn his hand as it went away as he caught Sakura into his strong arms, his cloak flying above his shoulder as he bit back a cry of his poor soulmate, whimpering with lifeless eyes as her hands weakly looked for him. She finally had the tips of her fingers touch his chin and parted lips, her black blood gurgling out of her mouth in a weak cry._

_"Sa-a...s...ke..ku-" Sakura closed her eyes to let black tears fall in pain. She felt his warm mouth smash against her freezing ones, showing all his negative emotion into the kiss he forced out: painful regret, miserable thoughts, undying loyalty and devotion for the only woman who would ever complete him. She whimpered against his mouth and let her blood-stained fingers rake through his inky locks, pulling him forward to let him take away the stinging pain in her chest very slowly._

_"Sakura," Sasuke choked out a cry as he pushed the messy pink chops out of her black beads. His large hand touched where Kabuto's tongue took her dripping blood from his soulmate, __**touching! **__her skin with his tongue! His Sakura..._

_"I love...you," Sakura's eyes drooped tiredly as she let a sob escape her lips again, her fingers falling from his hair from the total weakness after Kabuto's torture. "I love you... I-I l...love you, S-Sasu..ke-kun..! I'm.. I'm so tired..!" Black tears dripped from her closing eyes as she kept repeating how much she loved her husband and how tired she felt._

_"I love you, my darling," Sasuke was quick to run his fingers through her hair, tears starting to swell into his eyes. "My darling soulmate, I love you... You're my love... Everything I want... I love you. I love you..!" He let his cries out as she buried his face into Sakura's scarred chest, letting her weak hands hold him close as they both cried to the heavens._

**Day Three, Wanning Full Moon**

_Sasuke was carrying Sakura. He wrapped her weak and tattered-clothed body in his black cloak, wrapping her carefully as she whimpered his name in her half-sleep daze and lifted her close to him for her to hear his heartbeat; letting her calm down a bit as he sat there in the shadows of the rising run before getting up to head back to the village. He was tired from crying, his face was sore and in pain of his hand of the Chidori hitting him instead -he refused to have Sakura try and heal him, telling her to rest longer- as he carried his soulmate without another word. He would hear her mumbling words, calling for him, and he would put her to ease with his own hushes until she fell asleep again._

_The sun was getting rather brighter, hitting Sasuke's exposed skin in a painful manner. He had not fed on anything at all and gave the last of his blood to his darling before he left three days ago; he was starving. The scent of his village's boundaries where passing him in a passive way as his hazy senses picked up way too many things at once. _

_Blood... Flesh... Intestines... Fire... Fur..._

_Sasuke entered the village, finding everything in ruins of rubble and bloodsplatter on the wooden homes, shouji door torn open and nail marks on the ground of unwanted departure into the dirt where more puddles of vampire blood stunk the air in a horrible way. Sasuke's throat tightened in agonizing thirst as he walked past the dead corpses of men, women and children, seeing how husbands clung to their wife's corpses, parents trying to shield their children from a blow of a werewolf's claw. Sasuke ignored it all as he called out into the silence._

_"FATHER! MOTHER!" he called out, letting his tired eyes give the Sharingan a chance to scan the area, looking into the huts or boulders of rock to look for-..._

_He found the familiar form of his father inside the enterance of the royal housing, holding his mother's decapitated head and body, as if trying to put her back together, with his own head a few feet away from his body. Sasuke closed his eyes in misery, falling to his knees and clutching Sakura closer to his body in a tight hug as he buried his face into her dirty hair. The tears coming back into his eyes as he figured he ran out of tears himself... His parents were dead and long gone._

_A snap behind him made Sasuke open his eyes once more, his Sharingan deactivated as he glanced behind his sore head. The sunburns hidden underneath his hair and the cloak he wrapped around his wife as she made a noise in her sleep, hearing the same deal._

_A average farmer carrying a corpse by the ankle glanced at Sasuke with a rather surprised look. Sasuke stared with a blank expression as the man dropped the ankle, as if it was nothing, and dust his hands on his dirty, bloodstained yukata. "Aah, I was hoping more help would arrive soon. I already burned three fires already."_

_'Three fires..? They're burning the bodies of...my people?' Sasuke blinked slowly._

_The man laughed wholeheartedly. "That one you're holding there looks rather pretty. Too bad something that good had to go to waste in death, ne?" He turned around and picked up the ankle once more and started dragging the corpse -a woman who was a mother this spring, Sasuke noticed- pass by him when Sakura inhaled loudly and opened her eyes. The man jumped in shock and backed away a few feet._

_"IT'S ALIVE!" the man cried out in absolute fear, sudden beads of sweat form in his head. "Put it down before it bites you and makes you one of them! Hurry, boy!"_

_'He called my wife an it...as if she has no soul?' Sasuke looked down to look at Sakura's tired face, her lip parted to breathe. He looked back at the man with a considered glare._

_"Put it down! It will attack you, I say!" the man bit out and pulled a hatchet out of the back of his yukata string, aiming it at Sakura's covered chest as she weakly looked at the man. "YOU DEVIL SPAWN!"_

_Sasuke's black hair covered his eyes. "How many...are here now?"_

_The man gulped. "There is seven men armed here and ready to help you out, boy! Get away from it before it attacks!" His stance was weak...and that was perfect for Sasuke. If his stance was like that, then surely the other seven are armed the same way._

_"S-Sa...suke-ku..n?" Sakura blinked tiredly at her love, unable to see the eyes she loved so much and was too tired to touch his face anymore. She felt her weight shift as Sasuke put her to lay down on the dirty ground with so much gentleness, but she saw her husband's hands twitching in no control of an unknown emotion. She looked desperately at him as he stood up on his feet and slowly raised his head to look at the man._

_His eyes wide with vengence and the Sharingan targeting the man's face._

_"How dare you call my wife a Devil's spawn... You shall suffer for that!" Sasuke roared with his vampire canines sticking out huge, long and sharp to the point as his hands stuck out, palms in the air as lightning sparks emerged as he launched towards the man with the hatchet._

_Uchiha Sasuke, the soul survivor of the Uchiha Clan, left no human leave his property alive._

Wilting Roses

Chapter Eleven- The Fallen

"The two men, Kabuto being one of them, claimed that they were priests that held the truth of vampires," Sasuke ran his middle finger up and down Sakura's spine, who was sitting silently on his lap with her hands on her lap. His half-lidded eyes raised lightly to look at Sakura's blank face; slowly leaning forward to touch his nose to her cheek, making her jump lightly and look at him. She smiled slightly to him before kissing his sculpted nose gently before continuing. "They went to the village in daylight and used one of their cursed minions to sacrifice themselves, saying that werewolves would help purify the sinned people who let a vampire drink a single pint of blood from their veins.

"The villagers believed in this to the extent, watching how a violent vampire would react when they haven't fed or took care of themselves... I try to believe the naive mind of the human being would fall for the trick of brainwashing," Sasuke shook his head and snorted. "They were mere fools; they allowed their villagers mix with the vampires, they had children of their own and find their soulmate and let them live on, yet they still slaughtered their sons or daughters, grandchildren..." Sasuke didn't speak after that, having Sakura offered another kiss to the top of his head and pull it to her shoulder, where he rested and his pale hand slowly drifted off the wooden table and slip inbetween the folds of his wife's kimono unconsiously and touched the peachy scar that stayed inbetween her breasts; where Sasuke would spend every night touching and kissing in their bedroom.

"That Kabuto guy..." Naruto caught both of his friends attention. He swallowed thickly, trying not to cry from the story his elder-brother-figure told about himself and his family's endangered lifestyle. "That Kabuto guy did something to control...Sakura-chan's body. How was that possible?"

"We figured out a number of years later that a witch can control the corpse they cursed," Sakura explained for Sasuke, since he was alreadying going back to tracing the scar without removing the clothing off her shoulders. He spent centuries memorizing. "We have reason to believe that Kabuto can control my body, but not my mind... He is also capable to making my heart beat and even kill me."

Naruto shut his eyes tightly. He didn't want to think of Sakura's actual lifeless body on the ground, her black blood spilling out of her mouth with her eyes wide opened and misty with death. He can't imagine Sakura not breathing anymore. He was already use to accept the fact that her heart can't beat anymore, but...

"We haven't found anything about Kabuto," Sakura added in, making Naruto's eyes open. "But we have found documents of Orochimaru. He has made human civilizations fall into rubble whenever there was a considered 'epidemic'. For example, he was involved in the Black Plague in Europe, but he was actually getting more and more members for his army, the cursed vampires, and the werewolves were once part of it."

"They were part of it?" Naruto asked dumbfounded. "I have never seen or heard of-"

"We have reason to believe that the werewolves understood who Orochimaru really is, so they set off to Europe after the plague and created their existence there; since Japan didn't have written recording at the time, and then moved on to Canada and North America. They even did the Chupacabra myth when they mirgrated down south. We haven't seen werewolves ever since the attempted extermination of the Uchiha Clan. They tried to do the same with Nara, but we made it intime and removed any way for the werewolves to enter their territory."

"God..." Naruto allowed a single tear fall from the details. He looked at Sasuke's blank face, being too busy to touch Sakura's pale skin and pink hair then looked at Sakura with a sorrowful expression. "So they're back now?"

"We assume little for now," Sasuke spooked Naruto, not looking his way at all. "Their scent was on the outer town of Kyoto, but it was faint. It could've been passed on to a genetic relative, but it wasn't strong enough to be considered anything. I'm not takng any chances whatsoever, so you're going to have to help and stock the basement and cupboards, understood?"

Naruto didn't hesitate. "Hai, Teme! I want you to teach me how to fight a werewolf incase one ended up comin' here and trying to hurt you guys, Dattebayo!" He parted his lips big enough for his sharpened canines to expose as he clawed the table. "They're going to need some doggy diapers when they shit their pants when they see how badass we are!"

"If anything happens, we will talk to the Nara Clan," Sasuke bit out, halting the Uzumaki's excitement. "They stayed in Korea because the werewolves would only venture into island enviroments with lots of water. Korea didn't serve as a proper living place for those mutts. Other then that, you just listen to me."

"But what about Hinata?" Naruto blinked. "What if she encounters one and they eat her?"

Sasuke shrugged, leaving Sakura to try and help. "They wouldn't attack anyone a vampire crossed by, they're too territorial and they may just hug or pee on them... It may be a false alarm."

Naruto watched Sasuke scoot back on the chair, lifting Sakura into his arms rather gently and set her on her feet. His eyes still half-lidded, as if he was more depressed looking then before, as he bent his head to press a surprising kiss to Sakura's head. The blond vampire was rather shocked by this, since Sasuke was the kind to show his affection with no one looking, but the kind of glow in his eyes was something Naruto hasn't seen as Sasuke caressed Sakura's cheek with his fingers, watching her give him a reasurring smile before getting another kiss from Sasuke, quick and on the lips, before leaving the kitchen. Sasuke's whole body changed inside and out as he glanced at Naruto who was just watching silently the whole time, lifting an eyebrow at him, as if to mock.

"Well?" Sasuke said cooly, making Naruto blink. "I'm recording twenty minutes to get to the Blood Center and back, to stock up every cupboard and cabinet you can find. Are you up to it, or are you going to wimp out on me?"

Naruto jumped out of his seat. "No way am I losing to you, Teme!" Naruto roared as he disappeared in a blink and allowing Sasuke to smirk fake.

"What a child."

=xxx=

Hyuuga Hinata walked alongside with her younger sister down the sidewalk, looking at the familiar signs and shops that always lead them to the park where Hinabi is going to meet her friends. Hinata figured it was a rather great idea to walk her sweet sister to the park and then walk to the Uchiha Compound; an easy escape in the early morning to leave her father with his awaiting guests for breakfast to be with her new friends and crush. It was a special bonding time for the Hyuuga sisters, too, and Hinabi was just having a joy with it.

"..and then I'm going to take Mimi-chan up to the challenge of who can hold their arm up longest," Hinabi flexed her free arm to show the thing muscles of her strength. "You think I will win, Onee-sama?"

"As long as you put all your effort into it," Hinata said without a single stutter. Only Hinabi really saw her older sister's better verbal speech without people bothering them. She tugged Hinabi's hand to lead them across the street when the light offered them to walk. "Don't hurt yourself though, okay Hinabi?"

"Haaai!" Hinabi cheered when she saw the park in sight. She started to jump around while walking with her elder sister before their sandaled feet touched the grass, having her take off to the obvious group of girls and mothers who waved to the Hyuuga sisters, grinning and accepting Hinabi into the group as Hinata started her shy attitude. Hinabi went running back to hug her sister and kiss her cheek before taking off again and Hinata turned the other way to leave the park.

After their mother's death, Hinata took the role of the mother for Hinabi, but she always struggled to talk with the adults; they seemed too tall and...mature for Hinata's personality taste.

Now, Uzumaki Naruto...

Hinata mentally slapped herself as her cheek donned a deep red color, bursting her sandaled feet to spring into a lazy run up the hill that would offer a shortcut to the other side of Kyoto, where the Uchiha Compound called for her to come _home. _She was saddened when she left into her own housing, not offering Naruto to come inside (even if he couldn't) she still felt so bad about leaving him there with wonder of what the twenty-first century held in their gadgets. She really did like Naruto- Hell, she'll even admit to the crush she has for him!... Maybe.

The familiar objects of leaving Kyoto's town was becoming known to Hinata, to her surprise, noticing how more dark it looks with the thicker trees blocking out the sun's rays. She glanced around the dirt path and noticed the greenry vines on the cemented blocks that served as a wall around the territory that she knew belonged to the vampires that lived on the other side. For a Sunday morning, Hinata prefered the darker area where Naruto would have felt more comfortable. For all of her friends sake.

The gargoyles that protected the black iron gates was right infront of her now, sending friendly glares to Hinata as she smiled shyly at them. It was funny how only yesterday, they scared the living breath out of her, but now she feels more open to them and they won't try and eat her. Not like they could anyway, but you know. She didn't fear anything as she reached slowly to the iron gates and pulled the rusting bars open with a eerie '_creaaak!' _as the gargoyles allowed her in after shutting it behind her.

Like walking into a forest through a door, Hinata looked around trying to find out how to head to the Uchiha Compound's housing. Surely she would remember off of yesterday with Sakura to head one foot forward... But nothing was helping. She sighed helplessly and just walked forward, walking into the endless word of forestry and green. She had no idea where she was going, but she might as well wander around the trees and hopefully have someone find her.

Hinata started to simply hum a tune to herself; a song that her mother sang to her when she was a little girl and she had a nightmare of something horrific, and only her dear mother could soothe the painful dream away...

_Little Hinata burst into another fit of sobs as she clung to her heavely pregnant mother, letting the older woman pet her short blue-black hair and hush so gently to her. The tears didn't stop at all and the older woman had to take the duty of picking up the crying girl and set her on the leftover space of her lap where the fetus of Hinabi laid resting within the warm womb of their mother._

_"My darling Hinata," her mother cooed softly and stroked Hinata's red cheek, "why are you crying like someone passed away, baby girl?"_

_"M-M-Mommy..!" Hinata cried out as she wrapped her arms around the slim neck of the Hyuuga woman, feeling the light kisses of her lips on her head. She continued to cry out when her mother kept on petting and soothing, until the sweet voice of an angel started to sing a foreign language into her tiny ear; her tears slowly decreased as she pulled her face out of her mother's neck to watch in awe._

_The kind woman smiled down at her eldest child and continued to sing the unknown song until it ended with a sad, yet pleased tone. The woman gently wiped away the tears away from Hinata's chubby cheeks and kissed her head. "Are you done crying now, my baby?"_

_"What was that song, Mommy?" Hinata blew passed her mother's question with one of her own. "I don't understand the words."_

_"It tells a very wonderful story," Hinata's mother giggled like a youthful girl, touching the short strands of her daughter's hair with her index and thumb. "It is about a beautiful purple butterfly being taken care of by a monster..."_

_"Eep!" Hinata sobbed and bit her knuckle. _

_"Oh, but the monster is a good character, Hinata," her mother said. "This monster was always looked down upon by everyone, and they treated him horribly and he never did anything wrong except give his aid to others'. This butterfly, the rarest one in the world, was found by the monster and the monster wanted nothing more then to take sweet care of her...with all his heart, body and soul. The monster took care of the butterfly; and one day, the butterfly turned into the most beautiful woman the monster has ever seen..."_

_"Ooh, then what, Mommy?"_

_"The villagers saw the beautiful woman and wanted to take her special gift away and let her die... The woman's gift was something she had to live on, but it was a secret," her mother pouted lightly and Hinata did the same. "So the monster took the beautiful woman and they both ran away as lovers, because the woman saw the monster as a caring and sweet person with a pure soul._

_"Then, one day in the future, when the woman and monster wed and lived together in absolute harmony, the villagers found them and killed the monster and took the woman away; locking her away into the dark to await the time they would take her gift away."_

_"Mommy! That is horrible!" Hinata sobbed._

_"Aa, but there is a good ending."_

_"Tell me, Mommy!" Hinata perked in shock, clinging to her mother's nightgown. "What happened?"_

_"The woman said goodbye to her life and died... She found her beloved on the other side of life and they lived all eternity in each other's embrace and love. The end, Hinata..." Hinata's mother smiled and pressed a palm to Hinata's chest, her pale fingers pressing to the hummingbird heartbeat she had. "Hinata, I want you to remember this story for its lesson... Love comes in all shapes and sizes, no matter what kind of treatment the world will give you for your special gift: there is always that special man who will protect your little wings."_

_"But Mommy," Hinata pouted, "I have no wings..."_

_"Not yet, but every caterpillar will someday blossom into a butterfly, my sweet caterpillar!"_

Hinata stopped humming. Her mother's sweet voice lingered in her mind as if it was only yesterday, her being at home right now and sitting in her special room that Hiashi himself made; in the back of the house, where no one can bother her while she paints and draws to her heart's content. Her parents were so much in love, Hinata knew this for sure, but the last week of Hinata's mother's life left her acting...lonely and upset. She locked herself into her art room and painted, only to be found dead the next morning by one of the maids; her painting half finished of a family of multi-colored butterflies.

Hinata knew which butterfly her mother painted her as. The purple one.

A sound of something cracking started Hinata. She spun around behind her to see if there was a critter following her, but there was nothing there. The slight nervous-nelly she was, Hinata laughed shyly to herself and started walking, shoving her hands into her pant pockets as she started to whistle the tune instead of humming it. She didn't remember most of the song's melody, but she can definitely take a wack at it!

She was cut in the middle of her son when another whistle, similar to a mockingbird, mimicking the before tune in a round with Hinata. Her head looked up into the branches to look for the bird, but found nothing of a winged creature in the trees that barely allowed the sun through. She paused her song. The mimicking paused after her.

"H-hello..?" Hinata blinked before taking a single step forward, colliding her head with another object. She groaned and held her nose as she tumbled back into the surprisingly soft grass.

"Ooh, shit! I'm sorry, Hinata-chaaan!" a familiar hyper voice caught her attention as she opened her eyes to see Naruto upside-down from a thicker tree branch, looking wide-eyed at her in guilt. "You're not hurt, are you? My skull might be a little bit tougher then your fragile one!"

Hinata climbed to her shins and uncovered her now pink nose to meet his eyes, her cheeks blushing shyly. "I-I am okay... N-Naruto-kun, was that y-you whistling...w-with me?"

Naruto gave off that toothy smile that blew her breath away easily. "Yeah!" He rubbed the back of his head somewhat shyly, his upside-down blond hair swishing as he rocked to the sides. "Sorry if I startled you. I didn't know that you knew that song, too; Sakura-chan would sing that to me when I was a little kid back in the day..!"

"O-oh... My mother would sing it to me when I had a nightmare," Hinata bit her bottom lip, standing on her feet now and watched Naruto stay placed under the tree branch. "H-how do you...d-do that?" Hinata asked slowly as she pointed up and down on his buff anatomy, blushing harder when she finally noticed Naruto being shirtless again and could count the abs he had.

Naruto blinked, as if dumbfounded. But he easily smiled and lifted one foot, now being upside down on one foot. "Oh, this old trick? It's one of the first vampire tricks Teme taught me after he changed me... I pretty much focus all my energy into my feet to connect with the tree. Vampires are kind like one with nature, you know? We blend with all nature's creations: trees, plants, animals and humans... Am I confusing you now?"

"N-no, but it is interesting," Hinata offered a shy smile as she looked up to his feet. "I've never seen anything like that before. It's l-like...you're a real v-vampire!" She started to giggle lightly as she crossed her arms over her chest in example, Naruto doing the same with a grin and faked snores. She nodded in approval and continued to giggle when Naruto naturally let himself go and land on his feet lightly with no trouble.

"I am so happy you came back, Hinata-chan," Naruto smiled sweetly and fixed his already messy hair. "I wanted to take you out on something special."

"Huh?" Hinata stopped laughing and looked up at him with a shine in her eyes.

"Can I ask you...to go out on a date? I want to take you somewhere special, and I think you of all people deserve to see it," Naruto spoke in a hushed tone, a shy voice that made Hinata's heart melt. He looked down at his feet. "I call it my Secret Place, and I think you'd like it a lot..."

"N-Naruto-kun..." Hinata's heart swelled as she blushed a smile again. She looked down at her feet and swished her hips around. "Would Sasuke or Sakura-chan mind that?"

"Bah, they're not here right now," Naruto looked back at the tree he was once hanging off of. "They are out of town to find a pay phone."

"Why?" Hinata asked curiously.

"We don't have electricity or any usable phones here, so...we go to the town next over and borrow the pay phone! Just a couple coins to long distance!" Naruto swung his hands up into the sky, imitating a airplane of some sort. "It's not a big deal, but people will stare once in a while."

"I see... Then, I suppose it's alright, N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata chirped rather bravely. She straightened her spine and placed her hands on her hips. "Care to lead the way?"

Naruto froze in place, his hands still in the air. "Uhm...the thing is, Hinata-chan, you can't walk there."

Hinata puckered her lips lightly. "I don't m-mind climbing rocks. I got these old jeans on a-and-"

"No, no, it's not that," Naruto waved his hands infront of his face in apology. "Your clothes are fine, but... Well, let me rephrase that: _humans _can't get to the Secret Place. It's rather impossible for a human to." He mumbled something after that, but spoke in a more louder tone. "I'd have to carry you."

"C-carry me?" Hinata stuttered with a whimper.

Naruto panicked little. "It won't be dangerous! I've carried fragile china plates on my head once; you'd be as safe as a feather in my hands, Hinata-chan! No way would I do something that'd get your harmed in any way!"

Hinata definitely felt better by his words. She looked down and played with her fingers as she thought it over, unable to imagine where Naruto could be taking her that was unable to be inhabited by human company. Least to say that Hinata was rather excited. "Alright... I trust you, N-Naruto-kun."

"You do?"

"H-hai... You can carry me to your Secret Place," Hinata spoke childishly as she stuck her arms out towards him, glitter sparkling in her pale eyes. She smiled oh-so-sweetly to him that she thought Naruto blushed in response. But it was unable to be seen as he spun around and bent down. She blinked, figuring quickly that he will carry her on his back; his broad and buff back that looked like you could bake cookies on and-

Hinata climbed onto his back before she could finished her pervy thoughts. She wrapped her arms around his thick neck and looked to see the height difference compared to her little height, her breath just barely escaped her lips.

Naruto sensed her lovely warm breath hit his skin, sending tingles up to his skull in a very soothing way. He hid his bright smile as he asked in a calming voice. "You holding on tight?"

"Uh-huh..."

Naruto's blue eyes glittered as he launched from his legs, sending Hinata and himself up way above the trees and nearly touching the clouds.

=xxx=

AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE- Who are Sasuke and Sakura calling that they need to find a payphone in a town farther away from home? Where do you think Naruto is taking Hinata? ;3 You think it's to a lovely restaurant in space? A jungle safari ride and run with the lions? Huuu, I'm so childish, aren't I? THIS IS THEIR FIRST DATE AFTER ALL, PEOPLE! Mwahahaha! Hope you guys liked this slightly longer chapter, there will be more and more longer chapters to come for you wonderful readers. So please sit back and relax!


	12. Chapter 12

o-o... Winter ish coooold~! AND I LOVE IT! ;D I don't know about you, but winter is one of my favorite seasons next to spring. Fall seems too short and summer is too hot for me D: I'm sorry, summer...but you too hawt for meh! Nyuhuhuhuhu~! I can't wait to stay inside and play video games like the nerd I am! Did I mention that I think Jack Frost from _Rise of the Guardians _is a hottie? Why does the Tooth Fairy get to look at his teeth when I can't? D:"

I hope everyone is doing well as I lack updates D: I am still sorry for taking so long for updating, but please remember that others have a life outside of the world of (no matter how amazing it is~) Please accept it and haz fun! 8D

REPLIES TO REVIEWS (that needs answers)-

jojo07- Ne, you're too sweet! x3 Thank you so much and I hope you will enjoy the chapter and have a amazing day!

charmedprincess101- I have yet to choose what I am going to do with Mr. Shmexii-pants (Itachi). Uhm, I have a question...what does 'smh' mean? ;w;' I apologize but I am not too familiar with the text-language! I know I should've looked it up, but I have been busy D:

harusaki-tsukiko- I wasn't expecting for anyone to cry while reading the last chapter, honestly OwO I'm sorry that almost happened to you, but I hope you will be better with this chapter? I can't keep promises, but I think you will like the outcomes of this story!

Dark Devil2K7- I have explained in the last chapter that the Uchihas' don't have electricity in their homes, thus not taking the time to buy cellphones that need to charge on a outlet C: They're very old vampires and prefer to stay out of the technology ways, using stone-fires to cook food for their human guests and such.

Remember the things that make Kitty oh-so-fuzzbally! Reviews, Follows, Favorites or even just dissing me is acceptable for my situation of fuzzyness o-o... It is a serious case, I tell you all!

=xxx=

Wilting Roses

Chapter Twelve- Sharing a Secret

If touching the clouds were possible for Hinata, then it would have been _absolutely _impossible with the scream of terror as she clung to Naruto's back like a baby monkey to her momma; screaming high pitched cry when Naruto simply laughed in midair. Probably six stories above the treetops, Hinata felt like she was flying! Her arms wrapped so tightly around Naruto's neck, she probably thought she was choking him- But then she remembered that Naruto was somewhat indestructable.

So she screamed to her heart's content.

Naruto laughed at her vocal reaction. "You doing alright, Hinata-chaaan?" His knees straightened from his leap, causing the fall to be faster and dead-on to the ground; Hinata clung onto him for dear life as she begged to whatever God she could think about, burying her face into his strong neck as she hoped it would end quickly. "Open you eyes, Hinata-chan. You're missing a great sight!"

She shook her head fast, feeling the uncalled wind push her long hair behind her, leaves only licked her cheeks as she cried. "No, no, no! I'm too scared!"

The feeling of a hot cheek pressed against hers' made her breathing hitch. His voice was calm, like his exercise wasn't tiring him out at all and he was unmoving as she held her thighs protectively. She could barely feel his mouth against her red cheeks. "I wouldn't let you fall, would I? Just a little peek and I won't ask you again."

Slowly, Hinata cracked her eyes behind Naruto's blonde hair. She couldn't feel his body moving while being pressed against it, but she felt the wind blew against her, looking like she was going as fast as a race car. Her eyes opened more as she moved her head a little bit back, seeing the mist under them as Naruto bounced on each branch that wouldn't have been able to support a small animal, she watched green leaves zoom past her and looked up to the bright and shining sun above them both; the scenery of wilderness surrounded and the smell of water reeked the air perfectly.

"Wow..." she breathed, her breath visible in a smoke and brushed past them in a cloud, forgotten. Her hands gripped his shoulders somewhat calmly now as she leaned back better to see the area around her.

"Do you like it, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked as he stopped on a dead oak branch. The tree shaked only a little but held them both like they weighed nothing. "Didn't expect this in my backyard, ne?"

Hinata shook her head and looked around more. "I thought...i-it was just trees and...you know? N-Not all this stuff and- I-Is that a mountain?" she gasped and pointed at the faint shadow of a tall earthed structure hiding behind the missed. When Naruto nodded in confirmation, Hinata just gasped again and continued to look more. "This is...really cool, N-Naruto-kun."

"That's not the best part," Naruto grinned. "I want to take you someplace that I find really cool!" With that said, Naruto launched them up into the air and practically flew them over an opened field that was filled with numerous colors of flowers and plants.

Hinata took the time to relax in Naruto's hold and continued to look around the untouched scenery of nature. She loved nature and she always wished she lived in a cabin in the middle of nowhere, like her mother always wanted to do with her family back when she was alive. After a while, being in the air seemed like a second nature to Hinata's instincts as she daringly stuck out her arms and pretended that she was flying on her own; on a cloud that didn't judge the law of weight and crap, and carried her anywhere she wanted.

Naruto was her little cloud. A warm, cuddly and very handsome cloud.

Smiling shyly, Hinata leaned forward on Naruto's back and wrapped her arms around his neck. She sighed quietly by the warmth his strong body gave off and rest her head on his shoulder comfortably. "I can't w-wait to see it, N-Naruto-kun!"

His heart swelled in his chest in a sweet way to cause him pain; it always takes a lot (and not counting Sasuke's beatings, okay?) to get Naruto in pain for anything, which this is something Naruto can get used to pretty quickly. Naruto giggled to himself as he picked up the pace, wishing to hurry the time to arrive to his surprise.

=xxx=

Sasuke walked silently along the road of the country-side of Kyoto, watching as Sakura scurried ahead of him looking for a payphone at the little stripmalls. He found it somewhat annoying by the fact that nowadays, people have these things called cellphones. Thus, with the growing populary of this particular technology, the population of payphones at every corner has decreased greatly.

... Annoying.

Watching his wife jump around in her pink and red kimono to look over the tall grass like an average human, going to her tippy-toes and craning her neck to see a old gas station with old gas pumps. Perking her whole body, Sakura squealed and took off in a human speed around the wooden fence and began scanning around the dirty lot like a kid pretending to be an adventurer. Sasuke smirked a little when a farmer watched in confusion by the kimono-girl's excitement when she tackled the rusty, mud-caked payphone and started laughing in victory.

"I found it, Sasuke-kun! Look, I found it!" Sakura screamed in glee. "I finally found a payphone! Get here with the money, Cha!"

"Hai..." Sasuke graced his way over and pulled the girl off the payphone before allowing her to dig in his pant pockets; looking for the change that they picked up off the sidewalks and pick-pocketing while the other flirts with the victims. Yes, they were partners in crime for life.

When she found the right amount of yen from digging in the pants that she _loves _to take from him, she counted and gave them to Sasuke, silently commanding her dearly beloved to work the unknown machine that she wasn't familiar with. Complying to his sweetheart, Sasuke pushed the coins in and began dialing while Sakura looked around to the people watching them with curiosity.

Waiting as patiently as she could, Sakura played with the rim of Sasuke's long, black coat while she heard the operator answering the long distance; she giggled lightly when the other line picked up to their chosen place and heard Sasuke grunt into the reciever.

"Aa, Sa-su-_keee!" _a male voice responded to the Prince's lack of vocals. "And I bet that dear Sakura-chan is with you, too?"

"Hai!" Sakura shrieked by Sasuke, not bothering to speak into the phone. They can hear each other anyway. She giggled more until Sasuke tucked a hair behind her ear and spoke to her like a child: pressing his finger to his lips while the man's voice in the phone continued to coo and say wonderful things about Sakura's personality, just to get under Sasuke's skin.

"My friend, it has been a while, no?" Sasuke intrupted him with a serious tone.

"Aa, Sasuke, always wants to get to the point whenever I'm busy talking about how cute your wife is!"

"Would you like to come over for dinner?"

The gruffy laugh on the other line made Sasuke roll his eyes. Sakura cuddled her head against her husband's arm to ease off his displeased reaction to the response. "Why not? I miss you guys a bunch! I'll just have to ask the lovely wife of mine and we'll probably make it in a few days time. Why the sudden invite?"

"We think there are werewolves in Kyoto."

Silence took over the phone-talk while the rest of the human word continued to go on like nothing is wrong.

=xxx=

Naruto settled Hinata on the mossy grass and looked around. The forest was greener and thicker after a few minutes of running in his vampiric speed; being thankful that they didn't need to stroll in a lost daze like other humans normally did in the past, vampires could never get lost in a forest that was their own territory. The area was much more quiet, an odd silence that people who lived in the city wouldn't understand.

Peaceful quiet.

Naruto watched Hinata's head look around continously, as if trying to map out what this place is- where this vampire took her. She didn't seem scared as she was during the ride of her life. Honestly, Naruto thought she would have enjoyed herself being so high up in the air and flying at first, but the poor, idiotic fool scared the crap out of her for a bit until he calmed her down. He was happy now that Hinata was examining every little plant and ladybug that was flying by them, smiling like a little kid with a new toy, she was shy about touching something so new to her...but it was so nice for the gift.

"N-Naruto-kun, it's very pretty here," Hinata said in simple awe. Her hands came together as she looked at the numerous flowers. "This is lovely..!"

"Bah! That's not the best part, Hinata-chan!" Naruto roared a laughter as he fell onto his back. He eyed that Hinata jumped when she watched him fall before he started rolling on the soft material of the earth to the tall grass and cat-tail plants. He rolled to his stomach and crawled army-style behind the plants.

"N-Naruto-kun?"

In a snap, Naruto was up on his feet and pushing the long grass away like a curtain; holding a door open for Hinata like a real gentlemen. If he only had a damn tie. "Come this way, milady. Theres' something really cool over here!"

Peeking over her shoulders to get on her toes, Hinata saw a dark area. A giant hole against a rocky material of a makeshift cliff after years of moving. Her brows furrowed in caution, but she slowly made her way closer to him, to the darkness.

"What is it, Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked in a whisper once she reached his side, his strong arm wrapping around her shoulder in comfort. She instantly eased her shoulders when his hand pat her tense muscles. She allowed him to guide her into the dark, looking around to see nothing but rocks. "A cave?"

"Just hold on a second, Hinata-chan. You'll like this." He kept the 'door' of grass open until she settled in a bit farther, not too far from him of course, but enough that she felt the chill of the cold rock breathing at her. After a minute, Naruto's hand dropped the gross to let the darkness take over Hinata's sensitive eyes.

Hinata stiffened again when she couldn't see the details of the rocks, or the shadow of Naruto standing behind her. She made a whimpering noise and instantly thought about dashing out of the cave-

A light started to glow into the deep side of the cave.

A moment took Hinata's breath away as the walls of the caves around her started to spark, then go along in a soft line as it trailed down and into the hold of the cave; designs of swirls and sharp edges against the tips of the minerals, like a imagination taking pictures from clouds, Hinata could make out pictures of human shapes and plants, animals, plants and constellations of stars. Her jaw dropped as her lavender eyes glowed against the softness of the light, which now drowned the darkness to a blue-like hue of light.

"Wh-w...what..." Hinata couldn't speak.

"It's called chakra," Naruto explained quietly, not breaking the mood of Hinata's wonder. "All living things have it inside them in their systems, as for plants and other living things. Some creatures have it powerful then others and they can use it to make stuff like this." He pointed to the rivering light that reminded Hinata of flowing water. "Vampires use it all the time and can do awesome stuff. Like Sasuke-teme uses this thing called a 'Chidori', when he can make lightning come from his hands!"

"And Sakura-chan with her healing?" Hinata guessed.

Naruto nodded. "I would assume so," Naruto smiled. When Hinata gave a silent question to touch it, Naruto only smiled bigger and graced his hands towards the rock. "Go ahead, Hinata-chan. You're not hurting anything..."

Her long, delicate fingers touched a picture of what looked like a little child holding an animal, a rabbit maybe, and was taken back when the blue-ish color glittered against the touch and began changing into a flash of rainbows. It spread all over and went on for a while when Hinata gasped in shock.

"Is that normal?" she asked quickly, thinking she did something wrong.

"Yeah, they react differently to touch," Naruto shrugged softly. "If you blow your breath on it, it will so a smoky-thingy, touching it is rainbows... I don't recommend peeing on it though, they'll react to that badly."

"'They'?"

"Chakra is like a living thing too, but it's a part of ourselves," Naruto whispered as he slowly sat down on the ground, Hinata following him. "Like Sasuke-teme's Chidori can cause harm to others... Piss of a chakra, it will react to you in defense."

"So it shocked you when you..." Hinata couldn't stop herself from going into a fit of giggles when Naruto grumbled small curses. "I'm sorry, N-Naruto kun!"

"Bah, I was ten when I did that!"

"So...who made these things?"

"The spirits of the Uchihas' who passed way made them." When Hinata made a confused expression, Naruto took his time to be calm and as smart as he could. "The people who were Uchihas made them after they passed away, like telling their most treasured thing into stone that will never wither away. There are no graves for the people who passed away for vampires, so dark places where people don't go are an ideal resting place for the spirit to spend on earth is somewhat better. And, not to mention, a kickass find."

"So these are graves..."

"Yeah..." Naruto looked at the picture of a family; Father, Mother, Son and a pet raccoon the child kept as a companion. He understood some of the stories that were written on the wall, both adult vampire and child vampire who died from the massacre or murder. It took some time, that was for sure, but from being raised by Sakura's very old folktale of storytelling, Naruto wasn't too dumb with figuring out little details.

"This is...amazing, Naruto-kun," Hinata breathed. "No one has ever- I mean, it's just that... Wow."

"No one but Sasuke-teme and Sakura-chan and I know about this place," Naruto said softly. "But I wanted to share it with you..."

"Really..?" Hinata glanced at him shyly, seeing how calm and quiet he was speaking.

"Being my perfect match, I want you to know everything possible about my life," Naruto stared at his jeans, tattered and dirty from training alone in the forest. "Humans and vampires are not suppose to be together, with being...different and your kind doesn't respond well, I mean. But I know you're special, Hinata-chan. And, you know, I wanna let you know that you don't have to be scared..."

He trailed off instantly with his face growing a bit red by each minute he mentioned his thoughts about her. Hinata watched silently, like a good girl, and slowly smiling like a doll when Naruto began cussing under his breath at himself and growled like a animal. It seemed that now she was used to this behavior of the vampires, they're like cats and dogs when they growled or fight with each other; being like a graceful dancer when they move, like a pro.

But, as she noticed it, when it came to talking about their feelings...they naturally suck at it. And it was simply cute.

Scooting on her rear, she went closer to Naruto's side and carefully placed her head on his shoulder. She smiled a little bit bigger when she felt him move into a surprised tune of his body, but suddenly he calmed down and returned the gesture by resting his cheek ontop of her soft hair.

_'Such soft hair...' _Naruto thought in his head in total relaxation. His hand slowly sneaked up to touch the strand, hearing her sigh inn content, he took it as an 'okay'. His fingers continously ran through her long, dark hair as she paid nost of her attention onto the colorful walls that were _dancing._

"Naruto-kun..."

"Hai?"

"This place...will be our secret." Hinata looked up, not removing her head from his shoulder, and smiled softly with a tint of pink into her cheeks. "Can this be our special secret?"

Naruto didn't hold back when he smiled. "Of course, Hinata-chan. This will be your safe haven."

=xxx=

Upon returning to the mansion, Naruto stated to Hinata that Sasuke and Sakura were back and lounging around in the mansion. She smiled bigger as she held his hand tightly as she could while he guided her into the shelter to find Sakura's glomp attack to prove affective to Hinata's poor heart. After a long moment of cuddling a geisha, Hinata had to whimper inaudibly about how she couldn't breathe and Naruto panicked, saying that Sakura was hurting Hinata.

With that, Sakura jabbed her fan into Naruto's ear.

"OWWWWWIEEEEE!" Naruto cried out.

Sakura smiled and let go of her death-grip on the human girl. "Love hurts, Naruto! I wouldn't harm Hinata-chan even if Sasuke told me to!"

Hinata stiffened. "S-Sasuke would't..."

"Nah, he likes you because you keep Naruto occupied instead of bothering him," Sakura chirped sweetly before pinching Naruto's cheeks hard and stretching them as far as she could. "Look at my little man! All grown up and coming home with a woman!"

"S-Sakura-chaaaan..." Naruto cried in pain as his cheeks stretched. "That _huuurts, _Dattebayo!"

"Mn," Sakura shrugged simple. She let go of Naruto's face and let him drop to the floor to rub his face to soothe the redness. With a turn of her pink head, the doll-like girl suddenly smiled "Hinata-chan, you must be hungry, ne? Why not help me make you something in the kitchen?"

Hinata slowly nodded and followed Sakura, not before patting Naruto's head to leave him to cry alone in his miserable pain. "Sakura-chan, how was your trip with Sasuke?"

Sakura perked childishly as she pulled out a pan with fresh vegetables in a knitted-bag with a twisty-tie ontop. "Oh! I guess Naruto told you about it? It was great! I found three dollars worth of change on the way there, so Sasuke had to carry them and such..." Sakura kept on babbling about her whole trip to find a payphone, leaving Hinata to wonder if the geisha had a habbit of rambling when she's excited. It didn't bother Hinata, so she simply took a carrot and started to shred the icky dirt off it's coat to clean it up, listening to Sakura's story calmly.

"Oh, and we saw this adorable puppy on the side of the road with a little boy playing with him. I asked Sasuke if we can bring them some cookies, but he said no; honestly, I have no idea whats his deal of going out to do business, and coming right back. You know, I think he's afraid of puppies."

"T-that's funny, Sakura-chan!" Hinata giggled sweetly.

Sakura nodded in victory and carried a dish of water over to the stoned oven that was installed, walking past Hinata and stopping in her tracks. The pink haired vampire leaned closer to Hinata's head and began sniffing her dark hair. "Say, Hinata-chan...have you been anywhere near rocks recently? You smell...like rock- Oh! Naruto took you out, didn't he?"

_Snip!_

"Itai!" Hinata shrieked and held her thumb, feeling the sticky blood already staining into her skin. She bit her lip hard to hold back her cries as she stamped her foot on the tiled flooring hard; the numbness settling into her cut was quick, but it still stung badly. Noticing how close Sakura was, the flashback of Hinata's realization seeped in and scared her once more. "O-Oh, Sakura-chan, I'm s-so sorry about this!" She hurried to the counter were the sink was and dipped her hand under the faucet to drown the possible smell of iron and blood to Sakura's nose. Tears started to form into her eyes, instantly thinking she made a big mistake. "I-I'm...I'm s-sor-sorry...I-I!"

"Let me see it, honey." Sakura was behind Hinata instantly, startling Hinata with a little jump when she felt her warm body by her side. The very pale hand of Hinata's vampire friend came into view, softly asking for her bleeding hand. The cut was deep, Hinata noticed, and she will probably need stitches...

"It's okay, honey," Sakura offered a smile, her face completely normal. Her eyes were still green and her teeth weren't sharp. "I'm not thirsty for pretty little girls," Sakura giggled when Hinata flushed, her hand placed on her own.

Hinata watched curiously as Sakura examined the cut on her thumb; dark-cherry liquid was respilling out of the cut from lack of rushing water, letting Sakura twitch sadly from her lack of care for watching what Hinata was doing. Slowly, and being careful with her touches, Sakura's pink tongue stuck out and allowed her dead organ lick from the bottom to the top of the cut, a sizzling sweetness erupted Hinata's systems.

"It's...cold," Hinata mumbled.

Slurping her tongue back into her mouth and swallowing the tonguefull of blood down her throat in a big gulp, Sakura simply smiled and showed Hinata her own thumb; seeing a clean digit with no evidence of cut or blood. Hinata gasped in shock and looked at her thumb dumbfoundedly.

"H-how did you-"

"I figured using the way that won't leave an uncomfortable feeling while I healed it with my hands," Sakura giggled. "Despite me having a dead body, healing isn't all that hard." Sakura shrugged simply and took the knife out of Hinata's hand and resumed her friend's work for her. "If you want, you can do something else where I can't distract you! I'm sorry about that."

Hinata blushes furiously and sat in the kitchen chair with the green foods, gently taking the lettuce head and pulling them apart to be washed. She didn't feel scared about Sakura's actions toward her anymore, on the contrary, she is actually kinda curious about the vampire species.

"Sakura-chan..?"

"Uh-huh?" Sakura looked away while chopping a cucumber ninety-miles an hour to see Hinata swallow.

"Can I ask a few question about...vampires?"

"Well, I wouldn't stop you from doing that. Fire away, dear!" Sakura giggled as she went back to cutting and slicing like a professional chef.

Hinata smiled.

=xxx=

AUTHOR'S ENDING NOTE- OHHHH, SHORT CHAPTER ;w; I'M SORRY EVERYONE, BUT AT LEAST YOU GOT NARUHINA'S FIRST DATE! -and with that, I have no freakin' regrets- So! In next chapter, theres' gonna be a BIG surprise for Hinata when she gets home. What do you think it is, ne? C; Although I'm sure everyone can guess correctly (I'm a loser).

WHAT KIND OF QUESTIONS SHOULD HINATA ASK? Like, what would _you _dear readers, like to know about Kitty's version of vampires? Anything really, since I don't have anything to answer questions...yet xD

I hope everyone will have a great New Years! Kitty is doing it German style and gonna party with her loved ones! So she hopes you will enjoy yourselves until 2013!


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